


Star In Black Armour

by foldedwingsmakesyoufeeltired, Typical_Army



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Memory Loss, Multi, Sombra is Twilight's father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-06-26 04:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19760839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foldedwingsmakesyoufeeltired/pseuds/foldedwingsmakesyoufeeltired, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typical_Army/pseuds/Typical_Army
Summary: Equestria was a peaceful country. That is, until King Sombra came, and dethroned Queen Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence. Now, the Pegasi are forced to spend the rest of their days in Cloudsdale. Everything the people without magic do-farming, construction, you name it-is for King Sombra. The unicorns weren't so lucky. If they were not in Sombra's School of Dark Magic, they were either slaves, or executed.One thousand years later, Twilight Sparkle is a gifted Unicorn in Sombra's School of Dark Magic. But one night, she is approached by a strange figure, and shown a vision of Equestria, a version she had never seen before. Suddenly craving this version of Equestria, Twilight goes out in search of something that will be able to defeat King Sombra, the man who raised her.Will she have the strength to defeat the man she looked up to her whole life?XXXDISCLAIMER:Pegasi - humans with wingsEarth Ponies - referred to as regular humans because that's what they areUnicorns - humans with an energy chamber inside of them, usually seen with a staff that they use to control their powers (no horn)Alicorns - Pegasi and Unicorn mix





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on Wattpad by toshiron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically it's the Prologue and not Chapter 1.

_Tak Tak Tak Tak..._

The footsteps of the unicorn echoed across the castle walls. As he passed each window, he could see the purple, blue and orange hues as the sun began to rise.

Everyone he passed, was forced to the ground by the amount of magic energy he was letting off.

Once he reached ginormous double doors, he thrust his staff forward and used his magic to open the doors all the way.

He stepped into the throne room, his staff limply by his side.

"Sombra," the beautiful voice of the alicorn spoke plainly.

"Queen Celestia," Sombra spoke in a calm, deep voice. "Long time no see."

"How have you been?" The Queen asked, gripping her own staff tightly. Even from the space between the two, Sombra could see that her knuckles were white.

Sombra studied the alicorn. She had pale skin, striking with the grey stone walls in the background. She had hair that only ended halfway down her back, the colours purple, pink, green and blue. She had a long elegant white dress that covered her feet, with a golden lining at the bottom of her sleeves and her dress. The staff she held was white, except for the top which had a yellow sun. Her yellow crown had a purple gem. Her bright purple eyes stared intently at Sombra, waiting for his answer. "I have not been too bad," he answered after a moment's hesitation.

Queen Celestia also studied Sombra. He had black hair, as black as night, resting against his shoulders. His piercing red eyes resembled blood. His dark skin - completely black - matched his dark personality. He had silver armour, topped off with a red cape. He had a silver plating on his head, almost like a crown.

"I'm assuming you know why I am here," Sombra finally broke the silence, ready to get what he had come to do over with.

Queen Celestia stood up. "Yes." She walked away from her throne and stood two feet away from Sombra.

Without warning, Sombra unsheathed his sword and swung at Celestia's head, but she used her staff to block it. She was fortunate that it didn't break.

Celestia brought out her own sword, and the two beings of great magic clashed.

The sound of swords hitting each other could be heard throughout the entire castle.

Sombra overheard the noise of a crowd running. Looking out the doors through the corner of his eye, he could see a large group of the Royal Guards running towards them.

Sombra brought up his staff and created a transparent green shield, one that only an alicorn would be able to break. The Royal Guards pounded against the shield but to no avail.

Using his distraction as an advantage, Celestia stabbed Sombra in the chest, but still missed his heart.

Sombra stared at Celestia shocked.

She pulled her sword of his chest. Blood spurted out his wound, and he collapsed to the ground. A puddle of his blood formed quickly.

The pounding stopped as the Royal Guards watched. It was as quiet as the dead, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Sombra's blood leaking to the ground from Celestia's sword.

"You shouldn't have come here," Celestial finally spoke.

Despite his suffering, Sombra managed to bring his staff to himself, the tip touching the wound. A red aura surrounded the staff and wound. Celestia watched in horror as the wound stitched itself together, the flow of blood stops.

"H-healing magic?" Celestia stuttered, backing away from Sombra. "B-but how?"

Sombra laughed darkly, standing up in the pool of his blood. "You learned a long time ago, Celestia. I am no ordinary unicorn."

His eyes started to glow green as dark magic crept into the air. With unearthly speed, Sombra charged at Celestia, stabbing her cleanly through the heart.

The queen coughed up blood, going limp against the sword. Sombra was supporting her with his sword, simply by using his strength.

Sombra watched as blood dripped from Celestia's mouth, listened to the Royal Guards pounding against his shield. He slowly pulled his sword out from Celestia. She fell to the ground, a faraway look in her eyes.

Queen Celestia is dead.

"Sister!" Two voices shouted into the room. Sombra turned around to see two alicorns walking into the room, having easily bypassed his shield.

The older of the two looked to be fifteen years old, five years younger than Celestia. She, too, had dark skin like Sombra but wasn't nearly as black. She had dark blue hair with white sparkles, like the night sky, that reached all the way down her back. She wore a black dress that draped all the way to the ground and wore a black crown with pale blue linings. She held a staff matching her crown, it being pointed at Sombra. Hatred shined in her bright blue eyes.

The younger sister - who was only eight - had purple, pink and yellow hair that only reached her shoulders. She wore a yellow crown and a light pink dress. In her hands, she tightly clutched a crystal heart to her chest. Only sadness was seen in her eyes as the tears streamed endlessly down her face.

"Princess Luna. Princess Cadence," Sombra regarded the two with a cold stare.

"What did you do to Tia?" Cadence whimpered, staring at Celestia's limp body on the ground, refusing to believe that her older sister was dead.

Luna stepped in front of her sister, her arm stretched out protectively. "How dare you come here," she growled. "You are gifted, and you chose to waste it on this?"

"Do not speak to me as if I were a child," Sombra snapped. "I am far older than you are, and I demand respect."

"You already killed our parents," Luna retorted. "Now our sister. Will your endless lust for spilled blood ever be quenched?"

Cadence collapsed to the ground, unable to hold herself upwards. She stared at the Crystal Heart and started to mutter an incantation.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sombra yelled at the young girl.

"Leave her alone!" Luna yelled back. She brought her magic staff outwards, shooting a magic beam from the moon at the top. Sombra was blasted all the way to the thrones, landing with a loud crash. Luna felt slight satisfaction, now that Sombra was away from Tia's body.

Sombra stood up and shot his own beam at Luna, but she created a dark blue shield just in time.

"How dare you..." Sombra growled menacingly, but Luna did not back down.

"Seal us within!" Cadence suddenly shouted. A bright light exploded from the Crystal Heart, filling up the entire room.

"Noooo!" Sombre shouted, reaching his arm out as if it could stop the spell.

When the light was gone, the only one left standing was... Sombra.

He stared around the room in confusion. Luna and Cadence were on the ground, no longer breathing. The Crystal Heart was gone.

Sombra suddenly burst out laughing. "That little brat killed herself and her sister!"

He tore down the shield by the doors, and used his magic, forcing each of the Royal Guards to their knees.

Against their will, the Royal Guards started to absorb dark magic that Sombra forced into them.

Everything about them began to change. Their skin glowed with a green that reeked of evil, their armour was no longer yellow, but black instead, they had fangs, and for the pegasi, bat-like wings sprouted from their backs.

"Tell Equestria that King Sombra has taken over," the new King ordered, once his magic had faded. The green could be seen, if looked closely enough, underneath the skin. The guards turned on their heels and flew off, like demons in the night.

Sombra stared at the dead bodies of Celestia, Luna, and Cadence.

There were no more obstacles in his way.


	2. Chapter 2

"This way, Twilly," Shining Armour lead his little sister down an alleyway, constantly checking behind him to make sure they weren't being followed.

Twilight tightened her grip on Shining Armour's hand as she followed closely behind him, tears still burning as they fell down her rosy cheeks.

"Why can't mommy and daddy come with us?"

Shining Armour found himself choking up. "Th-t-they can't," he managed, wiping away a stray tear. He didn't want to scare his sister more than necessary.

"But why?" she insisted. "They're not hurt, are they?"

Shining Armour decided not to answer. He couldn't bring himself to tell the truth - their parents were dead. He was still in shock. He had watched them die right in front of him, and he could do nothing to stop it. But he had to help Twilight. He'll help her survive.

Up ahead, Shining Armour could see some of Sombra's dark knights. Cursing under his breath, he pulled Twilight into another alley. Unfortunately, someone was already waiting for them. Blocking the only way of escape.

Shining Armour gasped, holding Twilight close to him. "K-king Sombra!" He shakily got to his knees to bow, but suspected it wouldn't do any good.

"Another unicorn trying to escape?" Sombra tsked, with a dangerous glint in his bright green eyes as they looked down on Shining Armour, before shifting his gaze to Twilight. Shadows covered her face while she held onto her older brother. "Who's this?" King Sombra stepped forward, bending down to pinch her chin and pulled it into the light, dragging her whole face along. The light of the moon revealed the gleam of terror, sadness, and curiosity in her glorious violet eyes.

"She is quite appealing to the eye, if I do say so." The sight of tear stains on her cheek made him grin, acknowledging his snow-white teeth, two long bat like sabers showing themselves longer than the rest.

"Don't touch her!" Shining Armour, not being able to take anymore, intervened, pulling Twilight by the arm out of the King's grasp and clutched her to his chest as if holding on to life itself. King Sombra took only a second to register what happened before straightening his back while his shoulders vibrated from his evil laughter.

Feeling satisfied, the King looked Shining Armour straight in the eye, only causing him to tighten his grip on Twilight. "Isn't this just beautiful!" King Sombra growled, lips curled with bitter joy. "I guess we'll just have to kill you both!" Excitement passes through the King's body like electricity, giving the powers to turn the gears and soon enough his sword is in hand.

Twilight could hear Shining Armour's heart rumble in her ear like a train would on tracks. She was about to bury her face deeper in his chest, but he pushed her away, his hands lingered on her shoulders long enough to give a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to protect you, you _will_ live." His eyes shined with certainty, and determination to save her.

"Funny how certain you are about that, yet you have no way to defend yourself - neither sword, nor staff." Sombra mocks all the while swinging his sword around like a trophy. Shining Armour released Twilight and stepped in front of her, blocking any chance of King Sombra seeing her. He reached into his back pocket for the training wand he managed to take from his father's remains, before he ran away with Twilight. He had hoped that he didn't have to use it, for the reason that he wasn't a skilled unicorn yet, but now isn't the time to think about that.

Twilight watched as her big brother squeezed his eyes shut, closing all thoughts and focusing every part of his mind on the most powerful spell he knew. The simple silver wand started to glow with blue, the sparks increasing in size and brightness the more focused Shining Armour got. The magic, even in such dire times, made Twilight want to touch it, to wield it someday; just as the spell is about to be cast out, King Sombra swings his sword. The black blade resembling his heart as it appears through Shining Armours back.

King Sombra retreats the sword from the boy's gut, allowing his body to flop to the ground on his back in front of Twilight. The wand rolled out of his hand and his cerulean eyes began to faze over, but the light in them battled to hold its place in his eyes.

"NO!" Twilight kneeled next to him, a small part of her saying that it was hopeless. She took one quick glance at the wound, just seeing the blood spurting out in heaps from his gut was enough to cause her to gag. She tries to shake him. "B.B.B.F.F.?"

A cough pushed itself up his throat, blood dragging along with it as it leaked down the side of his lips. Yet he still managed to smile, he always had smiled, in even the worst situations, he would always smile for Twilight.

"I need you to remember," he gasps for air between words, "I will always be your Big Brother Best Friend, Forever." The tears flowed like a stream now, retracing the old tear stains making them wet again down Twilight Sparkles cheeks, causing her vision to blur.

"Don't go. Stay with me, I need you!" She l choked out in between tears and sobs. Twilight, not being able to stand the distance between them anymore, threw herself on his chest, holding him while her streams soaked into his shirt, and his blood into her's.

By the time she lifted her head again, the life was drained from his once life filled, smiling eyes, leaving her whole body hollow. "Okay, now that we got the sentimental part over with," King Sombra reminded Twilight of his presence as he lifted his head from where it once lay lazily on the butt of his sword, the bloody blade stuck in the ground, "are you ready to join your brother and parents now?"

Her eyes went cold with hate as they cut into cat-like slits. The tears felt like ice on her red raged face, her fists tightened into white knots that lay on the still chest of Shining Armour. Without thought, she grabs the pencil sized wand from its place on the ground, jumps up on her feet and points it directly to the King's heart.

"It's a real shame that a young unicorn like you has to die. You could have become a powerful magic user if you would have only obeyed my every command." The King lifted his blood-stained sword, and for a moment Twilight believed that in a second, her blood will join her brothers on the floor, but then he placed it back in its sheath. "Lucky for you I don't feel like killing little girls today. Men!" He called to his black knights that cornered Twilight and Shining Armour moments ago in this alley. "Dispose of this useless unicorn." King Sombra's command was an insult to her, he won't even bless her with death by the same sword that killed her brother?

King Sombra turned and started walking down the alley where he had come from, before her vision of him was blocked by the royal soldiers surrounding her. Filled with rage, hatred, and beyond all, despair, Twilight tried her best to remember the lessons she learned from her parents. She only knew light magic, and she was going to use it to stop Sombra - once and for all.

The soldiers started closing in on her, ready to kill for their king. She concentrated all the magic with the small wand to one area, the tip. Cold sweat started to drip down her temples as she squeezed her eyes shut. The atmosphere around her grew cold from her magic's presence, and then she broke. A strangled cry echoed along the walls of the alley, her hands hanged high to the black night. The focused magic exploded out of the wand and shoved everything all around her away with great force. The enemy soldiers were crushed by the impact and they flew to the walls of the alley, knocking them all out cold.

Sudden exhaustion enters every corner of every muscle in Twilight's body. Her screams stop completely and her fingers could no longer find the strength to hold the wand, as it falls from her hands. She tumbled to the ground, but was caught by the last person she expected. Or wanted.

"You're not so useless after all," King Sombra purred, as if that would relax her. If Twilight hadn't felt so drained, she would fight, and she still tried, but her body wouldn't budge. "Calm down, now, I won't harm you. You've come to be much stronger than anticipated. You'd be a powerful ally."

"Release me!" Twilight mumbled, unable to raise her voice higher than that. "I-I will never go with you! Not after what you did..." Her exhaustion tried to take over her body, and she fought to stay awake.

Sombra talks again. "I suppose that will put a hinder in a relationship. I will have to deal with that. Your name is Twilight, correct?" He pulled out his staff, which was easily as tall as he was, and gently placing the tip on Twilight's forehead.

Twilight's eyes went wide with realization. "No! NOOOOOO-"

Her scream was cut short as her consciousness was lost to her, and so was her memory.


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight gasped, jolting up in bed. With shaky hands, she reached up and held her forehead, where she could still feel the tip of Sombra's wand against it.

When the feeling faded, she withdrew her hand, expecting to see blood.

"Nothing, of course," she murmured, breathing a sigh of relief. Her mind wandered back to her dream until she shook her head. "I don't have a brother. It was just some fake thing I conjured up. Maybe I read a history book somewhere that told a story like that. But that dream was fake."

Her anger was irrational, but Twilight felt like that dream was betraying her father, King Sombra. _He never would've killed my family or erase my memory._

She blinked away tears she felt coming up. "Come on!" she whined. "Now I'm just being a baby!"

She pushed herself out of bed, more determined than ever to leave the dream behind. Suddenly, Twilight remembered what today was. She rushed around her room, gathering her clothes, before going to her private bathroom for a quick shower.

By the time she was fully dressed - a plain black skirt and a simple white t-shirt with a star in the middle of her chest - Twilight had completely forgotten about the dream. Swiping her training wand off her bedside table, she marched to leave her room.

The moment she swung open the doors and walked into the hall, her personal guard fell into step behind her.

"Good morning, Princess." The attractive, blue-haired boy greeted Twilight with his signature smile.

"I've told you this already, Flash, just call me Twilight." She groaned, but her annoyance couldn't suppress the grin that came after.

"I don't know if the king would like it if I called you by your first name, Princess." His hands were held behind his back, his soft yellow wings hid them from sight.

They continued down the long corridor of King Sombra's castle, towards the throne room. "My father can't tell you what to call me when he isn't around." A rebellious smile was spread along her lips while she turned her head back to see his reaction.

A look of hope crossed his eyes so fast that Twilight didn't believe that she saw it. She tried watching him for another moment to confirm, but he was staring at the floor, leaving her only to see the trace of a smile. She looked ahead towards the approaching doors, assuming it was her imagination.

Flash stepped ahead of Twilight and opened the grand double doors that they had come upon, entering the throne room where King Sombra was talking to a few servants. Once he had spotted Twilight as she entered the room, he dismissed the group, before he greeted her.

"Good morning my little Light." The nickname he had given Twilight made her grin turn into a smile.

"Good morning Father." Already standing in front of Sombra, Twilight wrapped her arms around him, and in no surprise, he returned the loving gesture, a soft smile on his lips, the kind of smile that only she could manage to put on his serious face.

"Are you ready for your graduation of magic school?" His hands moved to her shoulders while his blood red eyes looked straight into her sparkling violet ones.

An unsure feeling suddenly passed through her out of nowhere. Twilight had always been top of her class with straight A's in all her class, including sparring class, but now that she was approached with the question, she could almost see the confidence leave her body. "I think so." Her gaze fell to her feet, almost shamefully.

"Hey," Sombra lifted her chin up, revealing a proud look in his eyes, "it's okay to be nervous. I have complete confidence in you, and you should too." His words blew away most of the clouds of doubt in Twilight's mind, and her heart warmed up from the sweet words of her father.

"Thank you, Dad." Her smile reappeared the exact moment another voice was heard.

"Excuse me your Majesty, but Princess Twilight Sparkle must not be late to school today." Flash interrupted the two royals with a respectful bow. Twilight turned back to her father, asking for permission to go.

His hands fell from her shoulders to his sides as he nodded. "I will see you at the ceremony, now go." Twilight nodded and left in obedience. Flash trailed close behind as usual, but she enjoyed it. It made her happy knowing that he would always be there to protect her with his life and keep her company.

Now focused on breakfast, she headed towards the dining hall.

"Come on, let's get going," Twilight spoke aloud, standing up as soon as she finished eating. They walked down the halls, chatting quietly until they reached the school.

Twilight turned to face Flash just as he was about to speak. "I'll be seated in the first row at the end somewhere, in case you need anything." Flash gave her a respectful bow, bending to about waist length before straightening.

"Hey, before you go, I want to thank you. You know, for always protecting me and stuff." Twilight replied awkwardly before he could turn to leave. She tried her best not to make eye contact, and instead focused on the pavement beneath her. She felt a little flustered, wondering where her words were suddenly coming from. She wasn't required to thank him, he was just doing his job. She didn't understand where these feelings were coming from. 

Flash was taken back for only a moment before a sweet smile danced on his lips. Without thinking, his hand placed itself on her shoulder, which caused Twilight's head to lift and face him. "Your welcome, Princess. I would wish you luck, but you don't need it." A gentle chuckle shook his shoulders while - finally realizing his hand on her shoulder - his hand quickly dropped to his side, and took a step back. One last grin curled on his lips before he turned and left for the bleachers.

Twilight could feel her face getting even hotter. Too embarrassed to dwell on her thoughts any longer, she turned around so she could get prepared. Now wasn't the time for her to get distracted.

Her footsteps echoed down the mostly deserted hallways, each wall filled with lockers or doors to classrooms. She walked with confidence, she was going to pass, and maybe, with some luck, she would pass with the highest mark than anyone else in magic school.

Twilight was never a fan of interacting, if she could she would have just taken her diploma in secret, rather than on stage in front of everyone in the Canterlot.

She pushed the doors open to the gymnasium, revealing all of her classmates from Magic School, including the teachers she had grown to respect. She walked towards the principal as soon as her eyes spotted her, Ms.Cheerilee.

Oddly enough, Ms. Cheerilee was an ordinary human, not a pegasus or a unicorn. When Twilight asked her father why he would choose a human for a principal instead of a unicorn, Sombra had replied that no unicorn could be powerful enough to lead and still be connected to the students. He needed someone easily humbled.

"Good morning Ms.Cheerilee!" Twilight's cheerful voice called for the attention of the principal, who was handing out the graduation gowns to the students. A grin showed itself from the pink haired human.

"Good morning Twilight! Have you not gotten your gown yet?" Ms.Cheerilee asked with her usual happy tone as she examined the princess.

Twilight simply shook her head. Ms.Cheerilee turned towards gowns awaiting their unicorn, each designed specifically to fit perfectly on each student, a tag with their names attached to each item. Ms.Cheerilee shifted the clothes, before holding up one specifically, a grin of success stretching across her face.

She passed the gown to Twilight, who took it with slightly shaking hands - she was graduating, and this only made it all the more real. "Here you go! You better quickly change because the ceremony is about to start."

"Thank you Ms.Cheerilee. Not just for the clothes, but also for being such a great teacher and being there for me." The principle was always the one she turned to for help, whether it be with homework, classwork or other things. This caused Cheerilee to be Twilight's only favourite teacher.

"It was my pleasure to know such a smart student, Twilight." They smiled at each other for a second before Twilight headed towards the change rooms, slipping on the graduation gown as fast as she could.

She peered into the full-length mirror in the changing room, taking in all of her. Personally, she never thought that she was pretty, but she wasn't ugly either. She was just Twilight. Average body, average purple hair, with a pink streak down the middle, that reached to the middle of her back, and now - wearing the graduation get-up - she looked even more average.

Although she looked average, she can't help but feel special, unique. Like there is something more planned for her then just graduating Magic School, but until she found out what made her unique, she will have to go through the average stage first.

Twilight chuckled, wondering why she suddenly cared about her appearance. Whether she became queen, a teacher, the most powerful unicorn in Equestrian, or the weakest, her looks wouldn't get her anywhere.

Brushing her fingers through her hair, Twilight finally left the changing room as a few other girls entered. Glad that she avoided sharing a room with anyone, she wondered what she was going to do now that she was finishing Sombra's School Of Dark Magic. She never really thought about her future all that much. She trusted her father to worry about that for her, as he had always said that he knew what she was destined for, though he would never share what. She never thought about what she wanted, just to make her father happy. But what if her destiny wasn't where her happiness lied...?

Twilight shook off these thoughts. "First the dream, now these uncertain thoughts?" She murmured in disgust, walking towards Ms. Cheerilee, so she could be directed to where she needed to go. "Do I want to betray my father or something?"

After everyone sat down in their designated seats, the ceremony started to begin. The first speaker was Ms. Cheerilee. She said a few words about how great, and magically talented all of her students were, and how she hoped that we would all use our magic wisely in the near future, for good, and for the king. Twilight started to zone out as the ceremony continued. Her hands clutched onto her coat as nervousness starts to cloud all other thoughts.

What if she tripped on stage? Or hit someone in the face while trying to throw her hat into the air? What if, in the future, she doesn't use her magic for good?

Suddenly there was a large boom surrounding her, which caused her to jump, leaving her thoughts behind as she realized that the booms were nothing more than the clapping of the people around her. Feeling guilty that she allowed her mind to take over, she started to clap along, putting her focus back to the stage.

Ms. Cheerilee stepped in front of the mic again, while the Vice Principle, who walked to the back of the stage, to the table that held the neatly stacked diplomas. "And now, the moment you have all been waiting for. I will call up the students who have won awards, and hand out their diplomas." Her head bowed down to a paper in front of her before her gazed popped back up to the crowd, a large smile on her face. She starts to name a few kids to get their diplomas and their awards until she comes to the last and highest award. "The one student to make it on the honour roll, the highest grade, in all years of school for every one of her classes is..." everyone waited in anticipation a few already knowing the answer, as she left a pause before calling out in a louder-than-usual voice, "Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight could feel smug satisfaction seeping into her bones. She knew it. Of course, she would make it on the honour roll, and be the only one to do so. She was so much smarter than all of the other students. Her doubts from earlier were for nothing. 

She walked up onto the stage, happily collecting her diploma and certificate for the honour roll. As she was stepping off, she caught a glimpse of her father, wearing a large smile, filled with pride. Twilight beamed. It's been much too long since she's seen her father smile like that.

As Twilight made her way to her seat, Ms. Cheerilee continued. "Well, students now that that's over, I would like to thank you all for coming to this school and trying your hardest through all your years here. I wish you luck in the years to come. You will be great."

The students cheered, throwing their hats in the air in celebration. Twilight reluctantly did so, though she didn't have nearly as much vigour as her classmates.

It made Twilight wonder, does the "hat throw" symbolize something? Like maybe it means that after so long of sitting around like a hat on a head, they can finally spread their wings, and fly. Leave their old self and become dangerous, adventurous. It makes Twilight scoff silently to herself as she stays standing at her seat. _I don't know about anyone else, but I am not in for being dangerous. I would much rather read about it in books._

With the ceremony finally over, Twilight went back to the change room so she could return the gown and head home. She had no intention of partying alongside everyone else. With their futures right in front of them now, she saw it as a waste of time. Of course, she thinks every party as a waste...

Fully changed, and the gown returned, Twilight found Flash Sentry, waiting silently by the doors. He smiled at her. "I knew you would make the honour roll."

Beaming, she said, "Come on. We should probably go find dad now."

Silently, Flash walked behind her, letting the role of guard once again control his steps. Twilight hated how tense he became whenever they went to see her father. She liked him more when he was relaxed, but she knew her dad wouldn't stand for that.

"I knew you could do it, my Light!" Sombra embraced her in a bear hug, resisting the urge to twirl her since they were in public. He had a reputation to hold, after all. "Are you ready to get a real staff now?"

Clapping her hands together in excitement, Twilight did a quick twirl. "I was born ready!"

Sombra chuckled. "That, you are. Let's go then."

The only way a unicorn was permitted to get a staff was if they graduated from Sombra's School of Dark Magic. This left only the best of the best capable of high-level spells, instead of just levitation and small things like that. The training wand could only hold so much magic, to prevent amateurs from causing unnecessary damage, due to their lack of control.

Twilight remembered this as she browsed through the wand shop, looking for the perfect staff, one that resonated with her soul. Sombra watched, trying to squash his impatience. He remembered how long it took himself before finding his, and he dared not ruin this for his daughter.

Flash Sentry watched, feeling bored. As a pegasus, he was basically born with the ability to fly at full strength. He only got stronger as he grew. He thought that needing to be a certain age to unlock your potential was pointless, but he dared not speak his opinion aloud, especially with the king - and other guards - so close.

"Found it!" Twilight exclaimed, carefully pulling a long box away from the shelf. Sombra stepped forward as Twilight opened the box. Inside revealed a simple, light purple staff. The handle was smooth and at about shoulder height, but it wrapped comfortably around Twilight's fingers as she picked it up. At the tip, a magenta star sparkled, resonating with Twilight's inner magic.

"It's beautiful," she marvelled, enjoying the feeling of it setting with her soul.

A soul that was slowly working its way to becoming whole.


	4. Chapter 4

Twilight brought a spoonful of her favourite ice cream to her lips, allowing the creamy sensation to explode through her mouth. She struggled to suppress the strong urge to let out an excited squeal. Not wanting to sound childish in front of her father, she managed to shove the noise down her throat.

"You're going to get a frozen brain if you eat any faster," Sombra spoke with a gentle tone from the other side of the two-person table, the tone that he only uses when it's only Twilight and himself. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, while she giggled at the terms he used.

"It's called a brain freeze dad, and you know cookie dough is my favourite." Twilight beamed. It was true, ever since Sombra brought her to the ice cream shop for the first time - when she was only a child - and tried cookie dough for the first time, it has always been her favourite.

It somehow tasted familiar to her back then, almost trying to bring her back to a simpler time. Maybe that's what made it taste so good.

"Indeed it is." A hefty chuckle managed to crack his usually professional exterior - making Twilight smile a bit brighter, she loved it when her father was happy - but only for a second before he cleared his throats and put on his business face. An expression Twilight knew well for when he wanted her to do something for him. A frown appeared on her face, nearly identical to her father's. She quickly wiped it away, hoping that maybe if she stayed positive herself, her father might follow suit.

He didn't.

"I have heard from my sources, that there is a town called Ponyville that houses rebels. I'm not sure if I believe them, though, so I have planned a trip." Twilight's smile melted faster than her ice cream on a hot day.

"Are you going to be gone long?" She asked with worry, she didn't like when he left for long periods of time, let alone to a place that might be dangerous.

"Actually, I have planned it for you." Shock made itself comfortable inside her and made itself known on her face. "Since you have now graduated, and have your own staff, I would like to send you on your first mission. I trust you more than anyone else, so I expect you to find out if my sources are correct and if rebels are living there. Then I want for you to decide how to dispose of them. It won't be too dangerous, as long as they don't find out who you are or what you're mission is. You would only be gone for about a week - or two, at the latest - and Flash Sentry will be accompanying you, to make sure nothing goes wrong." Twilight was speechless. Her father, the king of all of Equestria, trusted her enough to a mission and not ruin it. The shock was starting to subside, gratification taking its place.

"I-I, uhem, I accept your mission, when do I leave?" Twilight pushed down her excitement, deciding to act as if it was truly a mission she was being sent on. With a jolt, she realized it was. Her _first_ mission.

"Tomorrow morning, you will have the rest of today to pack any necessities that you will need for the trip. You will be gone for a few days, two weeks at the most, but I expect you to contact me once you arrive and everyday from that point on. If anything happens then let me know immediately." All Twilight could do was nod. She was so excited to finally be put to work for her father; to make him proud.

"Will do. May I go pack now?"

Sombra chuckled. "Yes you may, Flash Sentry already knows all the details of the mission, he will guide you as well as tell you what I have already told him."

Twilight beamed, not caring much that Flash hadn't told her what her father had planned. Instead, she got out of her chair and kissed Sombra's cheek, about to leave when his voice stopped her. "Don't forget your staff." A smile was on his face, but Twilight was blushing, embarrassed that she could forget something so precious to her.

She quickly grabbed her new, but already comfortable, staff before half running half skipping out of the ice cream shop all the way home - completely forgetting about her ice cream.

Flash had waited patiently for Twilight and King Sombra to finish their get together, not bothering to listen in on what they were saying, for fear that the king would scowl at him for eavesdropping. Also because he already knew what they were talking about. Twilight's mission.

Flash did his best to stay close to Twilight when she quickly exited the ice cream shop, but curse her for making it difficult.

She quickly packed a few clothes, gear in case they ran into trouble, toiletries, and a stash of money. Squishing it all into two bags, leaving her staff by her bedside set and ready for the trip.

Soon enough, the sun had managed to set, and sleep was starting to trickling into her muscles, causing her eyelids to grow heavy. Hardly awake, she changed into her nightgown and clapped the lights off, before drifting into a deep slumber, dreaming only about the mission.

By morning, in the foyer, Flash Sentry and King Sombra awaited Twilight to come down with her bags. Flash felt slightly uncomfortable in front of the king, but Sombra barely noticed the guard.

"Sentry," Sombra's voice surprised Flash, but he quickly retrieved his blank face. "I would like to remind you that I only allowed you to be Princess Twilight's personal bodyguard because you had the best skill. Therefore I expect you to stay faithful to your oath and keep your relationship with Twilight strictly professional. No funny business while I'm not there." All while saying this Sombra kept his eyes forward and a stern look on his face.

It took all Flash's strength to stop the embarrassment from surfacing and breaking his mask of no emotion. "Of course, your majesty." He replied respectfully, giving a nod instead of a bow.

King Sombra finally looked at Flash, an evil green aura oozing out of his bright red eyes, his knuckles clamping onto his staff so hard, that Flash feared that it would snap. "One more thing, if she comes back with even a scratch on her skin, you will be held fully accountable."

Fear flooded into Flash at the thought of his punishment, and it took everything he had not to show it. "I will make sure she doesn't get hurt, your majesty." His back stayed rigid, for fear of angering Sombra further.

Twilight hurried into the foyer to see that Flash and her father were already waiting for her. Without hesitation Flash walked towards her and grabbed her bags, bringing them to their awaiting carriage, leaving Twilight with only her staff to hold onto.

She turned towards her father, the realization that she has to leave her father all alone, with no one to make him smile or laugh - finally sets in. She jumped onto her father, wrapped her arms around his neck.

At first, Sombra didn't do anything due to shock of her sudden embrace, but then he wrapped his large arms around Twilight. "I'll miss you," Twilight says softly through silent tears, wishing her father could accompany her on her first mission.

"I'll miss you too, and be careful. Who knows what I will do if you get hurt." A light, sad chuckle shakes Twilight, giving her hope that he will still laugh while she is gone.

"I'll be fine, I have Flash protecting me, but you, try not to be too harsh with the servants. They are doing their best for a picky king." She teased, pulling away.

Sombra unconsciously put his hand to Twilight's cheek, wiping her tears away with his thumb. She was shocked to finally realize she had been crying. "You will do great," he stated with confidence only a king could hold. "Now go on, you don't want to be late for your train." Twilight gave him one last smile before nodding and walking out the door. And as she sat in the carriage, she found herself memorizing every wrinkle, every curve of her father's face, in fear that she might not ever see it again.

As they neared the train station, Twilight forced herself to wipe away her fears, forcing her heart to harden like her father's. This was no longer the time to allow fears and worries clog her mind.

Her father would not send her on this mission if she lacked the ability to do this.

She's got this.

XXX

After a few hours, the train - finally - screeched to a stop. Twilight stood up, stretching. "Man, that took forever," she whined, looking at Flash through the corner of her eye.

He didn't respond.

Twilight looked at him in concern. He hadn't said anything since she went with her father to have some ice cream. At first, that was normal. Flash Sentry feared getting in trouble with the king, like all sensible guards, so he stayed quiet unless he needed to speak up. But after she received her very first mission, he had suddenly seemed fearful, before guarding his face. The fact that he was quiet for the entire ride was not helping matters.

"Flash, are you okay?"

He looked up, surprised. "What? Of course I'm fine. I can't be sick when I have to guard you!"

He's speaking too quickly, Twilight noted.

Frowning, she stepped up to him, placing her hand on his forehead. "You don't have a fever. A headache, maybe?"

Flash grabbed her wrist and gently removed her hand from his head. "Twilie, I promise that I'm fine. Okay?"

Twilight blinked back uninvited tears. She felt like some sort of memory was trying to surface in her mind, but what it was, remained blank. Deciding it would be better to shrug it off, she raised an eyebrow. "Twilie?" she teased. "What's with the sudden nickname? I couldn't even get you to say Twilight this morning."

She forced down the urge to giggle as Flash's face started to turn bright red. "Well!" he jumped up, forcing Twilight to stagger back. "We better get going, before this train leaves with us!" He grabbed their bags before rushing out.

Twilight burst out laughing. "Oh my Celestia," she rolled her eyes once she had calmed down. "Something must be wrong with him." Laughing again, she grabbed her staff and followed her guard.

When she joined him outside, Twilight asked, "Do you know where the library is? I believe that's where Father said we could stay."

"It's this way," Flash said, walking down the road. He still refused to make eye contact, but Twilight could forgive him since he accidentally called her Twilie.

Soon, they reached a building inside a tree, with a sign saying library pointing at it.

Twilight studied the building appreciatively. "This would be a nice place to study."

"Of course that's your first thought."

Twilight stuck out her tongue, before stepping ahead and opening the door. She flicked on the lights and stepped aside so Flash could walk in and put down the bags. Channeling her magic a little, Twilight used her levitation and carried her bags up some stairs, where a bed was waiting for her.

Twilight turned back towards Flash, before studying the library. "This is a really nice place. This library may not be as big as the one at home, but it should keep me happy for the next few days we're here."

"Are you telling me you're more interested in reading than you are in doing this mission?"

Twilight couldn't help but scoff. "Of course I am. Reading is better than just about anything. Unfortunately, dad didn't send me here to read." She sighed. Twilight walked down the stairs and proceeded to browse the shelves. "Help me find a map. I want to have an idea on where we're going before we head outside."

It took a few minutes, but Flash pulled a book out of the shelves. He flipped the pages until he found what Twilight was looking for. "Here it is."

Without giving Flash a glance, Twilight raised her staff and plucked the book out of his hands. Once she held the book in her hands, she studied the map, making a mental route for them to use.

"Alright, let's get going." Twilight teleported herself to her bed and put down her staff after casting a quick spell on the door. "I'm going to leave my staff here. You should do the same with your armor and sword. This should help us avoid any unnecessary suspicion."

Twilight walked down the stairs slowly, reviewing the map of Ponyville and her mental route. As Twilight did that (and sent a note to her father with a quick and easy spell), Flash unclasped his armor. Underneath his armor, he wore a white t-shirt with a lightning bolt on top of a shield, and jeans. His tousled blue hair fell out of his helmet, so he combed it back with his fingers. Flash stretched out his wings, resisting the urge to sigh in relief. He hated his armor, as it prevented him from using his wings. King Sombra allows Pegasi into his armor, but they lacked permission to use what made them Pegasi.

He walked over to the door where his bags still sat. Rummaging through them, he pulled out a black leather jacket with a red and white stripe that wrapped around the bottom half of the jacket. Despite his annoyance, he slid on his jacket, hiding his wings from view. His wings were going to be unforgiving the next time he would be allowed to use them.

"Ready?" Twilight looked up as her guard slid on some normal shoes.

Flash stood up, stretching himself. "Yeah. It'll be weird going around with you without armor and a sword."

Twilight couldn't help but nod in agreement. "We should try to do this more often though."

As the two explored, Twilight made mental notes of everything she saw. It was easy to see most of the people here were depressed. There was no diversity among the ranks of the people, but that wasn't what made them depressed. Even Twilight couldn't deny that her father ruled with an iron fist, as much as she hated to say it.

She also observed her friend and guard. Flash Sentry's mood had improved after their arrival and walk to their temporary home, but after he started observing the townsfolk, his mood began to match the town. A quick glance at the sky left Twilight surprised that it didn't decide to follow suit.

Sighing loudly, she glared at her friend. "You better not be like this the entire time we're here."

Flash was startled before he gazed at her with a wary look due to her tone. "Like... what?"

"Like... Like..." Flailing wildly as she attempted to put her thoughts into words, she added, "THIS!"

Flashed raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what she meant. "This...?" A corner of his mouth twitched with amusement.

Twilight groaned, gesturing at the townsfolk, who were beginning to watch them suspiciously. "You know, depressed!"

"I'm not..." His words faltered at the look she was giving him. "Okay, maybe I am. Just a little."

Twilight huffed, but turned away so he wouldn't see her smile. "That's better."

With Flash out of his mood, Twilight switched her train of thought. She questioned how she could find a rebellion against her father. They were just normal people...that needed to be destroyed because they stood against Sombra. But how would they appear? Would they look like the other townsfolk? Why couldn't they have just made it easier for her, by being all in one place at the same time with a sign over their heads saying, 'We are the Rebels! Kill us before we kill you!'

Twilight knew that this mission wasn't going to be that easy, but she still kind of hoped that it would be. She was so focused on finding anything that looked suspicious that she didn't notice a runaway cart going full speed straight for her. Flash's bodyguard instincts kicked in, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of danger just in time as the cart flew past them. Twilight's face burnt red as she slowly looked up to see Flash frantically looking around for anymore danger, his arms still wrapped around her. Once he realized that he had pulled Twilight flush against him, he let go of her so quickly that she almost fell back.

"I-I'm so sorry Princess! It won't happen again!" He rambled, getting ready to bow before remembering that he needed to keep Twilight's identity a secret. Twilight was awestruck for a moment due to his warm arms leaving her body, and then how he reacted - like he committed a crime. Not to mention that she felt almost hurt that she would never be able to experience his warmth again, but she decided it would be best to let that slide.

Twilight sighed slightly before grabbing his face, forcing him to look at her. He gave her a confused look for a moment. He quickly averted his gaze. "It's okay, you were just saving me from that cart. You don't need to be so afraid of me."

Little did she know of what Sombra had said to Flash and those words repeated themselves to him now. _No funny business while I'm not there._ Knowing this he gave a curt nod to Twilight and mentally promised himself not to hold her like that again.

Twilight released his face. "Okay, good, now let's continue our search." Flash looked around at his surroundings as they continued their walk in silence when the sound of screaming came to their attention.

A dark skinned girl with spiked magenta hair ran past them screaming, "Catch that cart!" Though Twilight had only seen the girl for just a second, the girl was so oddly _familiar_ that Twilight found herself taking off after her without a second thought.

Flash could only stand there in shock, but after a moment he took off after the Princess. His long legs helped him effortlessly pass Twilight and the stranger. A moment later, his arms reached out and grabbed the cart, forcing it to stop. Miraculously, nothing fell off.

"Thanks," the girl said, breathlessly moving past Flash so she could see if anything was missing or broken.

Twilight caught up a moment later, panting slightly due to her run. Flash was the only one that didn't appear even slightly winded. By this point, the stranger was already reorganizing the items on the old cart, ignoring them, and her own heavy breathing.

"Hello," Twilight finally waved after her breathing evened out. The girl didn't even look up, giving no indication that she heard. Twilight tried again. "I hope nothing's broken. Thank goodness Flash was able to stop the cart before anyone else could get hit."

The name gave the girl pause and she looked up, eyes widening.

Shock was undeniable on her face and it almost looked like she was about to cry when she spoke two words.

"Twilight Sparkle."


	5. Chapter 5

Flash stepped in front of Twilight, blocking the girls' view of her, but Twilight shoved him away not noticing the look he gave the girl. "How do you know my name?" She demanded, the strange girl looked around Twilight's age now that she thought about it. The girl looked over at Flash before answering, "Uh... I just so happened that I walked past your high school on graduation day and set up shop there. It wasn't much of a view, but I did manage to see a bit of the ceremony. Good job with that honour roll, I'm sure you deserved it."

Twilight couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed and a bit sad about the answer. She shook it away, not knowing why she would be sad when no one was supposed to know who she was. After all, she was on a secret mission for Sombra.

"Thanks. Well, I better get going. Have a nice day." Twilight said with a warm smile, trying not to let her awkward side come out before walking away. Flash didn't say anything and Twilight was thankful because her head hurt. As soon as Twilight had the feeling of recognition she felt something push against her brain, like a memory trying to resurface and it hurt. The more she thought of it the more it hurt so she pushed it aside and soon the pain went away.

Twilight noticed a dark alley a little ways away from where they were standing that she hadn't noticed before. She started walking towards it when Flash stepped into her path. "Maybe we should search the other way, I think I saw some people whispering back there." He said and for a second it almost sounded like he didn't want to go into the alley.

"No, look over there." She pointed to the alley and Flash reluctantly looked at the dark space between two old timber-framed buildings. "It looks like a good place to have a secret hideout or something."

"I think you've been reading to many mystery books," Flash says with a smile trying to change the subject.

"Maybe, but it's worth a try, right?" Twilight looks eagerly to the small space as if waiting for someone to come out screaming and yelling that they were a rebel. Flash stared into Twilight's eyes for a few seconds, contemplating something and it made Twilight curious as to what he was thinking about, but soon he nodded and moved out of the way.

Twilight walked towards the alley and right into the darkness without hesitation and Flash just hoped that it was empty, for Twilight's sake.

The absence of light slowed Twilight's pace as she became more aware of the darkness that swallowed them whole, and at that moment she wished that she had brought her staff for security and so that she could cast a light spell.

Twilight dragged her fingers against one of the building walls while she continued to go deeper into the darkness when she heard voices. She silently crept closer when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped to look back at Flash who was shaking his head 'no', but through the darkness, Twilight could barely see the movement.

She continued.

She could see a light around the corner at the end of the alley and slowly crept towards it without a sound. Once the light was only a few centimetres away from her feet she pressed her back against the wall.

She turned to her left to make sure that Flash was still there and he shook his head in disagreement again, and with the new-found light, Twilight could see through his emotionless mask and saw the panic in his blue eyes.

Again she ignored his discomfort, her main focus being accomplishing her mission.

She peeked around the corner and saw two girls underneath a street lamp post in deep conversation. One had short choppy, purple and teal hair, and purple eyes to match, while the other girl had long wavy, red and brilliant yellow hair and light green-blue eyes. Next to them, leaning against the wall were two full-length staffs—which were illegal in Equestria unless you had a license—one with a sun on top and the other with a small purple star with two streamers attached.

_Why are there unicorns here? All unicorns were supposed to be in Canterlot under Sombra's close watch, so how did they manage to make it this far without Sombra knowing?_

The red/yellow haired girls words then become slightly audible "...at six o'clock." _What is going on at six?_ Twilight thought.

"Why... meeting? We... meeting... a while." The purple/teal haired girl responds, but only a few words are heard making the sentence choppy and hardly understandable.

"They...new information...changes... plans." Twilight placed her hand against the wall, the one clutching the book with the map of Ponyville, and when that book hit the wall it slipped between Twilight's sweaty fingers.

Time slowed down as Twilight tried to quickly grab onto the book before it hit the ground, but in her attempts, she came out from behind the corner and into the light. The book hit the ground flat on its face and a loud bang echoed throughout the alley.

Twilight slowly lifted her face to the unicorns who were both looking down at her with shock on their faces as silence engulfed them.

"Hey... I was just walking by," Twilight lies and it was as if a light bulb just suddenly went off in their heads and the red/yellow-haired girl abruptly grabbed her staff that was leaning against the wall. She hits the ground with the bottom end of the long stick, giving the sun symbol at the top enough time to start glowing before she points it at Twilight.

Before the bright yellow light could hit Twilight, a streak of Flash's black jacket comes between the beam and herself. The beam so strong that it sends Flash flying backwards into Twilight, sending both of them onto the ground, knocking Twilight unconscious.

XXX

Consciousness was slow to return to the princess.

When she finally felt at least somewhat coherent, a moan escaped through her lips before she could force it to stop. Slowly, Twilight forced her eyes to open, hoping to see the familiar grey walls of her room.

She was only met with disappointment.

The lighting of the room was dim, and Twilight blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust. Once she could see, she let out a sharp gasp.

This wasn't just any room. This was a _cell. She was behind bars._

She blinked a few times, praying for this to be some kind of illusion that would drop at a moments notice, her father and Flash looking at her in concern. But nope. This was real. Way too real.

How had she gotten there? Twilight closed her eyes, trying to think.

The stranger with the cart? No, this wasn't her fault. Twilight had left her pretty quickly.

Her memory suddenly snapped into place. That's right! Those girls - _unicorns_ \- in the alley. They had panicked and attacked Twilight but Flash stepped in the way.

Flash!

Twilight jolted up, another groan escaping her from the pain, but she ignored it. She needed to know if Flash was okay. She looked around desperately, but no pegasus was in sight. Twilight was completely alone.

She took in a deep breath of air, struggling to push down her fear. She was _not_ going to give the captors the satisfaction of seeing her panic. She was a princess for Celestia's sake! It was time to start acting like one.

On shaking legs, she forced herself to stand, a determined look on her face. She needed to get out of here.

Taking another breath to steady her nerves, she looked around, deciding to take inventory. An empty room made of stone. No guards stood on the other side of the cell, meaning they didn't see her as a threat. That meant they didn't recognize her.

Twilight couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she continued inspecting her cell. She appeared to still be in her casual clothing, purple trousers and a black shirt with a couple of white stars sprinkled on top. She realized her book was missing but she had dropped that in the alley. Twilight had left the library with nothing else on her.

Twilight silently cursed. If she hadn't dropped that book, she wouldn't be in this situation. Her father was going to be so mad.

Twilight winced at the thought.

She quickly banished the idea though when she noticed her mind wandering. She had more pressing matters to deal with right now. She can take care of her father later.

Another quick glance around the room showed nothing new to her. Twilight rushed to the bars, her legs finally steady beneath her.

Twilight inspected the slim bars, hoping to find some sort of weakness. If she had her staff, she would've been able to blast her way through, but obviously, luck wasn't on her side today.

A firm tug to the bars revealed that they wouldn't move so easily.

Twilight's brows furrowed as she thought. There had to be some way to get out of here.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to figure it out. Though they sounded faint, Twilight could hear a pair of footprints, rapidly approaching her location. She stepped away from the bars and crossed her arms, putting on a defiant face. Whatever they wanted, Twilight was not going to give it to them.

After what felt like an eternity, a cloaked figure stepped into view, choosing to stand directly across from the nervous princess.

"Twilight," a small smile could be seen from underneath the cloak. The voice spoke softly - maybe she wasn't supposed to be here? - but it sounded tired. "I'm so sorry it took so long to bring you here. Your brother must be so disappointed in me."

"Brother?" At the word, an intense pain flared behind Twilight's eyes. She cried out, falling to her knees, holding her head. The pain spread like wildfire, and Twilight could only see black. A gasp escaped her captor, and in a flash of pink light, she was holding Twilight.

The princess found herself leaning into the touch, it being the only comfort from the pain. Her captor was murmuring something, but Twilight could not hear it over the ringing in her ears.

Suddenly, her captors' voice rang loud and clear, as if she said it from inside her head. "I am sorry to have you experience such pain. Allow me to help." With that, the black in Twilight's eyes were replaced with pink, before that faded away. Twilight was left looking over Equestria—but not the one she knew.

The sky was filled with pegasi, laughing, showing off, even relaxing on clouds. Unicorns and regular humans walked together. Magic was being used for the most mundane of things, pranks, _anything,_ without any fear. People were smiling, choosing to do as they pleased.

Twilight marvelled at the sight. Why was her father against _this?_

At that thought, the scene shifted to Canterlot Castle, her home, but that too was different. Despite appearances looking the same, it was somehow brighter, and people explored the castle halls, no fear, or even evil intent. Twilight soon found herself in the throne room, and she took a sharp breath. Instead of the imposing sight of Sombra sitting on the throne, there were three women, laughing together.

Instantly, she knew who they were.

Queen Celestia, and her sisters, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence.

What _had_ happened to them?

The thought sent Twilight reeling back to reality. She blinked up at the stone ceiling of her cell, disoriented. The worried face of her captor swam into view, but Twilight waited until the room stopped spinning before speaking.

"Which one are you?"

Her captor gently placed Twilight on the ground and stepped back. She picked up her staff, and finally let her cloak drop, and wings spread out behind her.

Princess Cadence stood before her, in none of her former glory.

A single tear escaped her eye.

"You mean to say you don't remember me?"

Twilight felt like her mind was spinning inside of her skull. Twirling and twirling not slowing down, but also not speeding up, and she wasn't sure if it was due to the vision she had received, or because she was looking for some memory that she had of Princess Cadence. After a minute of racking her brain, she shook her head to say that she didn't remember.

Another tear escaped Cadence's eye but she stopped herself from releasing any more. If Twilight didn't remember her then she had no idea whose side she was on.

"What happened?" Twilight broke the deafening silence that surrounded them. "How did Equestria get from that to how it is now?" Cadence had a sad expression on her face and Twilight could tell just by looking at her face that Cadence wasn't sure whether to answer Twilight's question or to change the topic.

After a sigh, Cadence reluctantly answered Twilight, "Sombra happened. I could show you, if you would like?" it was more an uncertain statement than a question, but Twilight nodded. Seeing it first hand would be better than just hearing it.

And just like that, Cadence's sad expression, her pale face, the dark robe covering her body, and her rough hard working hands were replaced with a new Cadence, the one that I saw in my last vision. This Cadence had sun-kissed skin; long pink, purple and yellow hair, with frail hands and a gorgeous dress, fit for a princess. She looked so young, 7 or 8 years old at the most.

Standing to Cadences right is a tall woman, who exerts an energy so powerful I could almost see the thick bubble of energy surrounding her. Her skin was so pale that it was almost blinding, her hair—which only went down to the middle of her back—was open and so thick that it almost looked like it was floating off of her shoulders. Nevertheless, it came down in wavey pink, purple, green and blue strands.

This was Queen Celestia.

On Celestia's right was teenage Princess Luna in all her glory. Her skin a dark chocolate colour (almost as dark skinned as Sombra), her hair a cobalt blue with flecks of white as if she held the stars it. Like Celestia, her hair came down her shoulders in thick waves, appearing as though it was floating.

The eldest two each held a staff. Luna's was a long black rod with a crescent moon on top. Celestia's was a white rod with a blazing sun. Cadence—being as young as she was—was far too young to have a staff of her own, but she held a crystal in the shape of a heart like it was her staff, keeping it close.

The three alicorns were sitting on their thrones with smiling faces, laughing at something Luna said when Sombra burst through the palace doors. He sauntered in and Celestia greeted him despite Sombra's evil intentions.

Twilight could tell that the vision she was seeing was Cadence's memories, and due to this, she didn't catch the exact words that Celestia and Sombra exchanged, all she saw was one moment they were chatting, the next their swords were drawn and they were desperately slashing at each other.

Twilight could see the pure hatred and anger in Sombra's eyes, and it made her physically flinch. She had never seen her father act and look at someone in such a way. Sure she knew that he ruled with an iron fist and was often unfair and sometimes a little cruel, but he was still her father.

They fought until Sombra was stabbed. Since the vision was a memory she could feel Cadence's happiness, and it made Twilight angry. How could they be so cruel to him? Had her father been so bad that they were happy to watch him die?

But then Sombra took his staff and healed his wound. Twilight was as shocked as the three sisters, and the feeling didn't wear off, because next thing Twilight knew, Celestia was bleeding out on the floor, Sombra's sword covered in her blood.

More chit chatting was playing in the background as Cadence held onto her crystal heart in her lap as she fell to the floor in front of Luna. Cadence began to whisper an incantation—one that Twilight hadn't heard of—and then everything went white.

Twilight blinked, expecting the vision to be over. Instead, she was greeted with the scene of the three dead rulers, but it was like she was staring through a crystal mirror.

"The spell will take time to wear off," whispered the voice of the young Cadence. Her voice sounded as if she was speaking through water.

"How long?"

Twilight turned around to see Cadence and Luna staring at something above them. Slowly, the princess allowed her eyes to wander upwards, and there she saw Celestia. Eyes closed, no longer bleeding, translucent.

Twilight gasped at that realization. She could clearly see the Luna and Cadence, but not the queen. Whatever spell Cadence had used was seconds too late. Celestia was not here.

And here, the thought came slowly, was inside the crystal heart.

Twilight turned around to see the scene outside. Sombra sneered at the sisters, before pointing his staff at them. Twilight found herself flinching once again when he shot a green beam at the deceased. The bodies burned in a green fire in only a moment, before disappearing in smoke. Smoke that wrapped around the crystal heart.

"Too long," was the last thing said before—

Twilight was ripped out of the vision so abruptly that she came out gasping, Cadence fell to her hands and knees with sweat on her dripping down her face and her arms physically trembling.

The two could say nothing as the new information wrapped around the dark princess.


	6. Chapter 6

Cadence allowed Twilight to write a letter to her father to avoid suspicion, but only after reading it over. Twilight was almost afraid to ask about Flash so she left the questions to linger in the back of her mind.

She was still having a hard time believing that her father could do such a thing. She wanted so badly for this to be another one of her nightmares, but now she wondered if her nightmares were nightmares at all, or if they were glimpses of her past.

Twilight did her best to make it sound like just another boring update. To make it seem like she didn't know about the horrible things that her father had done, and she found it more difficult than choosing which book she wanted to read next.

_To King Sombra,_

_So far Flash and I have searched the village for any signs of a rebellion, but I haven't seen any out in the open. Will investigate further and send you more news tomorrow._

_From Twilight Sparkle_

Their letters were more often than not, short and brief. Simply informing the other of what has happened so far on their journey, but Twilight was always happy to receive them, no matter how brief. This was simply because it meant that he was alive. Even now, after learning the truth, she hoped her father felt the same way.

Twilight folded the almost empty paper into thirds and stuffed it into an envelope, not forgetting to address it to the palace.

After she saw what happened to the princesses, she was moved to a more comfortable room. She was still locked in, but there was a bed, a study desk, a very small and cramped bathroom, but a separate room nonetheless, and there was even a small shelf with around 10 books.

She could understand why Cadence still didn't trust her enough to unlock her door, because she would have done the same thing if their roles were reversed.

Twilight stood from her small desk and walked over to the door. Through the small window on the door, she could see Cadence talking to the guard posted at Twilight's door. But when she saw Twilight with the letter waving in front of her face, Cadence stopped talking. She ordered the guard to unlock the door and she stepped in before the guard closed and locked it again.

Twilight wordlessly handed the letter to Cadence who took it immediately and skimmed through the letter. Once she completed reading the short note, she placed it back in the envelope and placed it in the back pocket of her skinny jeans.

When Twilight was moved to her new room, Cadence had taken off her robe to reveal a plain white shirt and black skinny jeans.

Before Cadence could turn to leave Twilight interrupted her with a question that had been bugging her a lot.

"Earlier you said something about me having a brother?"

Cadence wouldn't look Twilight in the eyes, instead, she stared at her feet.

"I actually had a dream last night. Actually, it was more like a nightmare." Twilight tried to remember all the details of the dream. "I was running down a dark alley with a boy a few years older than me when we were cornered. My dad—I mean King Sombra—killed the boy and I was sad and angry with him. Then he tapped my head and I woke up."

After finishing the quick recap, Cadence looked on the verge of tears.

"It wasn't a nightmare, was it?"

Cadence looked up at the wall and take in a deep shaky breath before daring herself to look Twilight in the eye and answer.

"It was real. It seems the spell Sombra placed is weakening, your mind is trying to resurface old memories, and the only way possible was while you were sleeping. That boy you were running with was your brother." Cadence responded, finally breaking eye contact to wipe her eyes.

It took a few seconds before Twilight could fully grasp this new information. Thinking about it made her head hurt in so many ways, but she had to know more. What was his name? What was he like? How did Cadence know about him when she didn't? Twilight always wanted an older brother, but now that she had one she wasn't so sure. And then the realization came to her.

"'Was' my brother?" she asked, and that's when Cadence really began to break down.

Twilight, being the awkward person that she was, did nothing but stare and wait for an answer.

"He died in that alley by Sombra's hand. Seeing you now, without any memory of him is so sad. You two were really close, you know? Shining Armor was always there for you to help you with your homework and to protect you from any bullies."

Twilight wanted to empathize so badly. But even more, she wanted to _know_ more. She had a brother, and she had never had the chance to mourn him because she had forgotten him when Sombra took her in. "I'm sorry," she whispered, unsure on who she was saying that too.

"No," Cadence managed to say through her tears.

It felt like an eternity, but the two managed to regain their bearings, Twilight first.

"May I ask how you knew him?"

"We went to the same school, and we were in the same class. I often came over and played with you and him."

Twilight nodded but was having a hard time believing it.

Cadence smiled sadly, wiping away her tears. "I see you don't believe me. I guess I can't blame you." When Twilight stayed quiet, she continued. "I'll look into our archive of spells. Maybe I can find something to help you with your memories."

"Thank you," Twilight whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. She felt so lost. She didn't know what to do.

Cadence simply nodded before leaving Twilight.

Alone with only her thoughts for company, Twilight collapsed onto the bed, curling up into a ball. She mourned for a brother she couldn't remember, and a peaceful Equestria that disappeared a thousand years ago.

Not in the mood for reading—or doing anything, really—Twilight slowly cried herself to a sleep filled with memories that left as her eyes opened.

~~~

Twilight felt small. And looking up at her older brother—so tall, strong, a kind leader—how could she not? She wanted to be just like him when she grew up.

Shining Armour was saying something, though Twilight couldn't hear it through a ringing noise inside her head.

Twilight felt herself answer, but just like for her brother, the words were lost to her.

Through the buzzing, Twilight could hear footsteps behind her. Turning around curiously, her excitement soared as she saw Cadence approaching the two.

Cadence laughed at something Shining Armour said, the sound drowned by the ringing in her ears. The trio walked together, content just to be in each other's presence.

Until Twilight collapsed to her knees, holding her head as the ringing became unbearably loud. She watched helplessly as Shining Armour and Cadence continued on with the child Twilight, not realizing what was happening behind them.

"Please," Twilight groaned, eyes sliding shut. "Come back. I miss... you..."

When Twilight opened her eyes again, the scene had suddenly shifted to a whole new one; one that she was much more familiar with. A very young Twilight woke up in a panic from the hospital bed that she was laying on.

She searched all throughout the strange room for something that she might recognize when a large, firm hand rested on her shoulder. The action only made her heart rate increase. She turned to the stranger holding her.

He had an expressionless look on his face, which didn't help with Twilight's fear in any way. Seeing this, the stranger attempted a reassuring smile but failed and only ended up looking creepier than before.

Twilight tried to pull away from him. He rolled his eyes at the doctor who suggested the smile in the first place, then he grabbed onto her other shoulder and stared deep into her eyes. He looked at her with determination.

"Hello, small child, I am Sombra. I found you all alone in town so I decided to help you out a little bit. What is your name?" The stranger, Sombra, asked Twilight and for a second she had to think about the question.

She soon remembered, "Twilight...Twilight Sparkle."

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. Can you tell me where your parents live, or what their names are so that I can return you to them? I'm sure they are very worried about you." Sombra responded with sarcasm that Twilight wouldn't have understood at such a young age.

Twilight's mind was blank. She suddenly realized how empty her brain felt. She tried to remember what had happened—if what Sombra said was true, but came up with nothing. No memory of ever having parents or ever living past this moment at all. No memories at all.

"I...I can't...remember. I can't remember anything." The realization hit her like a rock to the head. Tears began to drip from her eyes and small sobbing followed close behind.

"Hey! Don't do that," Sombra sat there in the visitors' chair next to Twilight's bed as awkward as can be. He looks to the nurses for backup but they had long left the room; so he did the only thing that he thought might stop the hysterical weeping. He showed her a magic trick.

Wordlessly, Sombra took his staff from his lap and hit the ground with the bottom of it and immediately the lights in the room turned off. Twilight, noticing the change in lighting, lifted her head to frantically search in the darkness for any sort of light. Finding none, she curled in on herself, lifting her knees to her chest and clutching them.

Then Sombra lifted his staff and slowly circled it above Twilight's head. The sparks covered Twilight and her cries slowly ceased to exist. She lifted out her hand in awe, tried to catch the flecks of gold light.

"Do you like magic?" Sombra questioned.

"If this is magic, then yes." She responded, taking in Sombra's dark gaze head-on. Most would have been intimidated by the look, but Twilight saw more than the scary show he put on; deep down she believed that he was kind.

"It'll be okay. I'll help you find them, but for now, I'll let you stay with me at my house. How does that sound?" Twilight nodded her head because at the moment she only knew Sombra, and although he seemed very awkward, Twilight found him trustworthy and not as scary as he appears.

All Twilight did was blink before the scene changed once again. This time she was sitting on a wooden bench, reading a book to Sombra in the castle garden. She was reading about a woman whose husband died and how she never thought that she would ever love again, but then she did and remarried.

Twilight stopped reading in the middle of the sentence, momentarily lost in thought. "What is the matter?"

Sombra's question pulls her out of her trance. She stares at Sombra with a question in mind, but afraid of what Sombra will say.

"I can see that you have a question and I recommend that you ask me now so that it doesn't continue to bother you." So Twilight does.

"Why aren't you married?" The question was like a switch that abruptly turned Sombra's face to hard stone. "Or even have a girlfriend? I mean you're attractive enough, I guess. I'm sure that there are at least twenty ladies that would love to date you. Or are you not into girls? If not then-"

"Don't talk nonsense that you know nothing about!" Sombra snapped with eyes blazing red and green mist surrounding the corners. This was the first time she had experienced this reaction from Sombra and for the first time in a long time, she began to feel afraid.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious," Twilight whispers with her head down, not daring to look into his glowing eyes.

"Apology denied! You will refrain from asking such a question from now on! Understood? Never speak of this again!" He said with a pointed finger in Twilight's face, then stood up and stomped away. His footprints seeming to shake the ground. Leaving Twilight with tears in her eyes, and a new fear in her heart.

~~~

Twilight woke up in a cold sweat.

She lied there, staring without seeing, her mind swirling like a whirlpool as different thoughts collided together.

She lied there until restlessness settled on her like an old friend, and she found herself pacing the room, her mind still unable to slow down.

She was almost dizzy!

Finally, Twilight fell to the ground, forcing her thoughts to a stop.

"Okay, breathe," she whispered the reminder. "Hyperventilating won't help you. Not in the slightest. It would do the opposite actually. Which would not be good for you. Or dad. Or—stop!" 

She groaned, holding her head.

A moment later, the squeak of the door opening dragged Twilight out of her head. She peeked between her fingers to see who it was.

"Twilight?" Cadence asked, head tilting in concern. "Are you okay?"

"No."

Cadence chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't be either."

She placed the tray she was holding onto the desk, before helping Twilight to her feet.

"Come on. I brought you something to eat. After that, our leader wants to speak with you."

Twilight eyes widened. "What?!" she squeaked. "What could- why- I don't-"

"Breathe, Twilight," Cadence gently pushed the panicked princess to the bed. "It's nothing too bad. I think."

"She thinks! That's really helpful!"

"Easy does it." Cadence brought a glass of water over, before sitting next to Twilight. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

Twilight sighed, slumping forward. She stared at the floor, dead-eyed. "I'm sorry... It's just..."

Cadence waited patiently.

"Everything's happening so fast! I can't trust my dad! I have a brother that I can't even remember! I'm still worried about Flash! I just... I don't know what to do."

Cadence only nodded, not saying anything. What _could_ she say? I'm sorry? This sucks? I shouldn't have dropped all this information on you at once?

That last one, she did actually say. "I-I rushed things," Cadence apologized. "I just missed you. I wanted you back here."

Twilight wished she could say the same. However, her brain was still being stupidly stubborn about her memories from before. Assuming Cadence wasn't lying.

Twilight somehow found herself unable to believe that.

Instead, she took a sip of her water, giving herself a chance to calm down. "Let's just go meet your leader."

"Don't you want to eat first?"

"I'm not hungry."

Suddenly, a gentle hand was placed on her forehead.

"No fever," Cadence murmured, frowning.

"I'm fine," Twilight muttered, moving away from Cadence, feeling a sharp pang, as she was instantly reminded of Flash doing this just a day before. "Let's just go."

"...Okay."

Cadence led Twilight down a series of hallways that the younger princess didn't bother memorizing. She stared listlessly at the ground, ignoring Cadence's concerned glances. She had no energy, no motivation. She just didn't care. Twilight didn't plan on coming back to where ever it was that she was taken to. When she returned home, she doubted she would ever leave her library again, let alone come back here to Cadence.

She was glad it was just her and Cadence.

Well, mostly.

"Hiya, Cadence!" A bubbly voice finally caused Twilight to look up curiously. "Who's this? A new recruit?! I love meeting new people!"

"Hi Pinkie Pie," Cadence greeted, stepping in the way before Pinkie Pie could lunge at Twilight. "This is Twilight Sparkle."

Pinkie gasped dramatically, flapping her arms around. "OhmygoshIcan'tbelieveyou'refinallyhere!" Pinkie took in a deep breath. "I've been dying to meet you!"

"Huh?" Twilight's mind was spinning as she tried to process Pinkie's words. "Why...?"

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the booming sound of someone else's voice coming from another corridor. "Pinkie! Come on, you said that you would help me with this!"

Twilight turned towards the voice to see a girl around the same age as herself with spiked rainbow hair. The girl glared at Twilight like she was going to take Pinkie Pie and run; her wings flapped open almost in a way of warning Twilight 'Don't try anything funny because I'll catch you so fast you won't know what got you'.

_A pegasus?_ Twilight was shocked. The only ones she's met was Flash Sentry, and a few others, all who worked for Sombra. The rest were banished to Cloudsdale.

"Sorry Rainbow Dash," Pinkie bounced away, towards her friend. "This is Twilight!"

However, before Pinkie could properly introduce them, she grabbed whatever it was Rainbow was holding, and ran off with her.

"Pinkie! Wait!" She ran after her.

"Uh, let's go," Twilight said.

Cadence giggled.

After Twilight was sure the two rebel girls were long gone, she spoke up. "So I, uh, had a dream last night."

"Oh?" Cadence looked hopeful, likely thinking Twilight may have regained some of her memories.

"I don't really remember much, but... Well, it was me and Shining Armour." Twilight looked around realizing the hallway was familiar. "We were walking here, actually. Or somewhere that looked similar."

Cadence held her breath.

"We were talking about something, but I couldn't hear what. There was a really loud buzz in my head. Then you joined us." Twilight paused, carefully watching the ex-princess. "You didn't meet in school, did you? Shining Armour was a rebel, wasn't he?"

Cadence faltered for just a second before continuing to walk. "You know what, Twilight? I can't believe I forgot how smart you are. With just a general idea on the area, you put together more pieces than you were given. Yes, your brother was part of the rebellion, just like your parents. They... died the same night your brother did."

Twilight wasn't sure what to say. That night sounded like a horrible one. If her memories came back, she was starting to hope that one stayed buried. She wasn't sure if she could relive the night again. One dream was more than enough.

Soon, Cadence stopped in front of the door. It looked like the rest, and Twilight could understand that. You don't exactly want a sign saying, 'Hi, I'm the leader! Come kill me!'

"Ready, Twilight?" Cadence whispered, lightly gripping the younger's arm. Despite being from a near stranger, Twilight found it reassuring.

With no grounds for this, Twilight trusted her.

"Yeah," she finally nodded. "It's now or never."

Cadence smiled. A tearful—but genuine—smile. "That's my girl."

With that, Cadence pushed open the door, to reveal the last person Twilight expected to see.

"It took you long enough, Cadence," the leader stated with a soft gaze directed towards her sister. It hardened immediately upon seeing Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, it is a pleasure to see you again. I am Luna, leader of the rebellion."


	7. Chapter 7

"I-it's a - a pleasure t-to meet - to see you," Twilight stuttered, bowing.

Sweet Celestia, she had no idea what to do right now.

"At ease Twilight," Luna put a hand up, hoping to calm her nerves. "I won't hurt you. Unless I have to."

"Luna!" Cadance snapped.

Luna smiled, though if it was supposed to relax Twilight, it did the complete opposite. "It is only a joke, Cadance. There is nothing to worry about."

Cadance shook her head, clearly annoyed with her sister. "Luna, Twilight is here. Please tell her what you wanted before you worry her some more."

At that, Luna did turn serious. "Very well. Twilight, you have learned the truth of your father, correct?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes,...he took the throne from your sister."

"And you believe this?"

"...Yes, I think I do."

Luna frowned. "You think? That is not a very reassuring answer."

"You've proven to have strong enough magic to touch memories. Forgive me for being skeptical." Twilight immediately regretted her flat tone.

Luna glared at her before letting out a hearty laugh. "Oh, I like this one!"

Cadance chuckled, shaking her head. "Get on with it, Luna."

"Alright, alright. So let me break down the situation for you Twilight. You are the current princess of Equestria, you are in rebel territory and in a rebel camp as a matter of fact." Twilight nodded her head in understanding, she knew as well as anyone that she was pretty much stuck and would most likely be forced into doing something that she wished she wouldn't have to do.

"Now if you still believed all of Sombra's-" Twilight couldn't help but wince at the hatred put into his name, "-lies then we would have to resort to wiping your memory of us and this place, or even kill you, but since that is not the case we see an opportunity. Twilight, we would like for you to join our rebellion."

Twilight remained frozen for a moment - then another moment - before she burst into laughter. Cadance and Luna exchanged confused glances. "Do you not take my words seriously Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked with a touch of irritation.

"No no no, I am! It's just that," Twilight managed to say between laughs before taking the time to mostly compose herself, only a smile left on her lips, "did you really think that I would join your rebellion on the spot simply because Sombra has done all those terrible things and lied to me about being my father?"

Twilight's words caused a frown to form on Cadance's lips, while Luna's expression gave nothing away. "I had hoped that you would come to hate your father once you knew the truth, and if necessary then you would take a day to think it over, but in the end, you would join because you cannot deny that the king is cruel and must fall for his crimes." Those words angered Twilight.

"He may be cruel with his laws and regulations but he has only ever loved me! He may not be my father but he is the man that raised me and made me who I am today!" Twilight snapped, but what she said was the truth. "Though he may not be my birth father, he still is my dad!"

How could she so easily turn her back on the one that taught her magic? That held her hand when she had a nightmare in the middle of the night and couldn't seem to shake it? The man that taught her almost all that she knows about magic? Not to mention that he is what lead her to falling in love with books and the knowledge and power they held? Admittedly, Sombra had done so many wrong things in his lifetime, but he had done some good as well. After all, he had raised Twilight since she was small.

Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides while she glared up at the woman that had thought so little about her loyalties.

Despite Twilight's words, Luna's face remained unchanged. Twilight Sparkle liked to read, even found joy while doing so, but Luna was a book she doubted she would ever open. And truthfully, she didn't want to.

"I... suppose you are right. We left you in his care far too long, which allowed him to corrupt you. I expected you to only know his evil, but you have seen a side we are not privy to." At this, Luna's face darkened. "I will give you until tonight, Twilight Sparkle. If you do not change your mind by then... well, I suppose we will decide that when we get there. Cadance, you may return her to her cell."

"Of course." Cadance didn't look at Twilight, instead just walking past her. Twilight hated the sudden change in attitude, but she only has herself to blame on that one. She herself had changed her attitude the second Luna offered that ridiculous idea.

~~~

Twilight was grateful for the tapping of their shoes on the stone tiles. Anything to fill the cold empty silence sticking between the current princess and the past princess. The walk to Twilight's cell seemed much longer now that awkwardness clung to her very core.

That feeling is the sole reason why Twilight sighed heavily when a woman with long waves of purple hair walked by and said, "Oh...oh my." Even though she had a look of disapproval on her face, Twilight still welcomed the small distraction from the awkwardness.

"Oh, darling what are you wearing! It's absolutely horrendous!" The lady with purple hair made a complete stop in front of Twilight, successfully interrupting her walk towards her cell.

"Not now, Rarity." Cadance said with a hand to her face in clear frustration, but this didn't stop the lady called Rarity... who was now picking at Twilight's dark green ankle long skirt and tucked in blue plaid shirt.

"Oh for Celestia's sake, Cadance this girl is having a fashion crisis! What were you thinking? Wearing this colour green with that plaid shirt?" Rarity directed her question towards Twilight, but she was speechless from the disgust in Rarity's voice over clothes. Clothes, and not who Twilight was.

Twilight looked down to examine her choice of wear. Admittedly, Twilight wasn't thinking at all when she threw it on, she was too busy thinking about her trip to Ponyville.

"No matter, you're coming with me to get you a suitable outfit." And then she just started walking in the same direction she had come from. Twilight didn't move, not believing the situation she was in.

Rarity stopped and looked back at her. "Well? Come along darling, I don't bite."

"She doesn't but Spike might." Cadance said from beside Twilight who was giving the elder princess a questioning look. "Might as well follow her or else I'm never going to hear the end of it." With that, they followed her to what she later called her 'sewing room'.

After they walked down a few hallways they finally reached a door that Rarity wasn't immediately scolded for opening. "Finally! I swear this place has a few too many doors for my liking."

Upon stepping into the room, the first thing that Twilight spotted was a small creature no bigger than a dog, with purple scales covering every inch of its skin and green spikes in the top of its head going down to the tip of its tail.

"Is that a dragon?" Twilight asked, pointing to the creature that was happily snacking on some jewels. It lifted its head to face Twilight.

"Yes, I'm a dragon but my name is Spike." He said, and it was then that she noticed his emerald green eyes. Twilight's eyes widened. She did not expect him to speak.

"Ignore him, all he does is eat my gems and call himself the ambassador of the dragons." Rarity mentioned.

"But I am the ambassador! And a good one!" The purple dragon whined.

"I've never met a dragon, let alone a baby dragon." Twilight inquired with the tilt of her head.

"This is Spike, as he has already mentioned. He's the only dragon who can speak both dragon and human - due to him being raised by humans - and therefore he is their ambassador." Cadance informed Twilight who nodded along.

"So you have dragons on your side. I have to admit that's going to be tough to beat." Twilight said before she walked over to Spike who had stopped eating and was now sitting. Twilight reached her hand out to him to shake his claw.

"Never mind that, I've found the perfect outfit for you!" Rarity squeals while she ripped Twilight away from Spike, shoved clothes into her arms and ushered her into a small changing room.

"Rarity, couldn't you see I was making friends?" Twilight could hear Spike complain.

"I'm sorry darling, but her poor fashion decision was screaming to be saved as soon as possible." Rarity defended.

The two began to bicker and Cadance soon tried to dissolve the issue, all while Twilight changed.

"SHUT UP!!" Cadance screamed as Twilight stepped into the room, the yell completely stopped all sounds and movement from all parties. Cadance seemed to have an aura of anger surrounding her until she spotted Twilight in the room. "Twilight! You're done, good, now let's get out of here."

Rarity turned to the princess and Twilight could swear that she saw tears in the corners of her eyes. "It matches you well! I made sure to get something that you could move easily in and wasn't uncomfortable." She pulled Twilight in front of a mirror.

Twilight liked it. She was wearing a short purple skirt that went to her mid thighs with a blue, short-sleeved button up, and a pink bow tie to complete it. Twilight was suddenly hit with gratitude. She couldn't believe that a complete stranger would get her something so nice to wear, just because they wanted to.

Twilight turned to Rarity before saying, "Thank you so much Rarity. You really didn't have to."

"Don't be silly love, of course I did. Now go on, I know Cadance won't be able to stand another second with me around." Twilight nodded before walking to Cadance.

"You look really nice. Now let's get you back to your cell." Cadance said.

"Oh!" Twilight suddenly remembered, "I never told you my name, I'm-"

"I know who you are Princess Twilight Sparkle." Rarity said with a smile and a wink. "I hope I'll be seeing more of you." And with that, they left.

Twilight could hardly believe that despite knowing who she was that whole time, someone would still act so kindly to her, knowing who her father was. With this in mind, Twilight walked silently back to her cell.

~~~

_Both answers are the right one._

Twilight didn't know what to do. Stay with her father? Or join the rebellion? Her heart was split into two, with both options feeling right and wrong.

_I need to get out of here._

It was a step in the right direction, she reasoned with herself. At least it gave her less time to overthink about her loyalties.

Sitting up, Twilight knew exactly the first step in her escape. Learning the way out. And she knew the perfect way to do it.

Casting any spell - no matter how small - was extremely dangerous without a wand. The wand was a way for them to channel their magic in the desired direction, without causing harm to the caster, or those around them.

Just because it was dangerous, didn't mean it wasn't possible.

Twilight had read many instances of people attempting magic without a wand. Most ended up seriously injuring themselves, or losing their ability to use magic entirely. Some have died before. However, there were rare cases of skilled unicorns successfully doing this, and some of those rare few even tossing their wands as they had become stronger without it.

Twilight wasn't prideful, but she did know she was an extremely gifted unicorn. If anyone could do it, it was her.

The unicorn rubbed her hands together, before sitting with her legs crossed and closing her eyes. She was confident she would be left alone for a while, and she could afford no distractions. 

With a deep breath, Twilight searched inside herself for her magic. Once she found it, she took a hold of it, forcing the magic to snake throughout her entire body. She shivered, unused to letting her magic run like this. Twilight paused, allowing herself to get used to the feeling. Once she was confident she was ready, Twilight activated one of her most favourite spells - Astral Projection.

_On no,_ was all Twilight could think before she could feel her soul get launched out of her body. The world moved at dizzying speeds, everything flying past until-

Twilight came to a stop, gasping for the air that her current form couldn't take. She shuddered, holding tightly to herself, as she waited for her surroundings to stop moving.

The moment Twilight stopped feeling so sick, she looked down at her hands. There, she could see white mist clinging to her. She couldn't help but cheer. "I did it! I can't believe it!" The joy didn't last long though, the second she realized where she was. "Wait. This isn't my cell!"

The unicorn had unintentionally sent herself to the Golden Oaks library, the place she was supposed to bunk during her stay in Ponyville.

"My wand is here," Twilight remembered. "That must be why I ended up here."

With this realization in mind, Twilight floated over to the main part of the library. Since she was here, she might as well make sure nothing was missing. Then, she can search for the rebel base, and find her way out.

Unfortunately for the princess, her plans were quickly cut short the second she saw the door open, and the last person she expected to see walked in.

"Flash Sentry?!"

Of course, the pegasus guard didn't react, as he couldn't even see Twilight like this, let alone hear her.

"Did they let you out?" Twilight asked her guard, despite knowing he won't answer her. "Or did you escape? Did you come to find me? Oh! Maybe you figured out what I was doing so you went to get my wand to help me!"

"I'm not sorry to say, Twilight Sparkle, but you're wrong."

The princess whirled around and found herself staring at Luna, who stood a few feet away from her. She quickly noticed the same mist clinging to the rebellion leader.

Luna had cast the same spell.

"What are you doing here, Luna?" Twilight growled, getting into a fighting position. As long as they were like this, Luna was the only thing Twilight could interact with.

"At ease, Twilight Sparkle." Luna stayed relaxed, but it meant nothing for Twilight.

"What do you mean I was wrong about Flash?" Twilight responded instead, gesturing to the guard without turning around.

Luna sighed. "Have you not figured it out? He did not enter the library in a rush. He did not seek you out before coming here. Twilight, Flash Sentry is a part of the rebellion."

"What?" Twilight stepped back, already feeling tears prick her eyes. "No. You're lying! Flash would never betray me. He's... he's-"

"The only reason Flash Sentry is here is to retrieve your wand. Before speaking with you earlier, I told him I wanted you to join us. He was happy, believed you would say yes. So, he returned for your wand."

"No, that can't be right. He knows how loyal I am to my father. He knows I would never betray him."

"He also knows you aren't stupid, Twilight Sparkle. You may wish to ignore it all you want, but you know of the terrible things your father has done."

Twilight didn't answer, _couldn't_ answer. She just didn't know what to say.

"Don't believe me?"

Suddenly, Luna spread out her wings, quickly flying behind Twilight. She gasped, but couldn't do anything else, as the rebel leader grabbed her arms tightly.

"I will show you the truth," Luna whispered.

The world whirled around them, until suddenly the two were standing in ruins. Twilight's eyes widened, watching helplessly as the people around them shouted for each other, running away from the fire burning around them.

The scene changed again, this time Twilight recognizing Canterlot. It was a poorer area, yet the streets had plenty of Sombra's knights terrorizing the people outside. Beating people, destroying their property, they were all laughing while doing so.

Luna continued taking Twilight from place to place, city to town, showing the worst of it all. Twilight recognized some, while others were lost to her.

Suddenly, they were back in Twilight's cell. Once Luna released her, Twilight fell to her knees, sobbing.

"I give you until the sun sets tonight Twilight. Will you join the Black Armour Rebellion?"

Then Luna disappeared, and Twilight returned to her body at last.

Twilight chocked, gasping desperately for air. She tried to stop crying but all it did was make it worse. Not even the pain of her body being in an awkward position, slumped on the floor, could distract her from the pain of betrayal.

This continued until a light knocking interrupted her thoughts.

Twilight looked up, confused as to who would be disturbing her now. She had only been gone a few minutes after all.

She wiped her eyes quickly, and dusted off her new set of clothes, wishing to look at least somewhat appropriate. The door to her cell opened slowly, until a light pink haired, pale skinned girl poked her head inside, speaking quietly.

"Um, excuse me, Princess Twilight? I'm really sorry to bother you. Um, Cadance asked me to, uh, bring you supper. If you don't mind. Uh, I can come back later. If you want."

"S-supper?" Twilight stuttered.

"Um... yes?"

That was when the stranger noticed how red Twilight's eyes were, and the tear tracks still staining her face. "Oh my Celestia! You've been crying!"

Twilight expected her to leave. To slam the door close, and never look at the depressed princess again.

Instead, she rushed in, placing her tray on the same table Cadance had used earlier and kneeled in front of Twilight with her arms open. "Um, is it okay? If I hug you?"

Twilight nodded, unable to trust herself from speaking again. Despite her consent, she was still surprised when the stranger wrapped her arms - and yellow wings - around her.

"I know right now we're supposed to be enemies," the stranger spoke, somehow even quieter than before. "But, I'm not going to leave you crying on the floor. You deserve some kindness too."

Twilight just nodded, grateful for this kind stranger.


	8. Chapter 8

“I’ve made my decision,” Twilight stared up at Luna while sitting in the comfort of her cell’s bed. “I will join you in taking down my fath- King Sombra.”

Luna couldn’t hide the twitching of her mouth. Twilight could tell Luna already knew her answer. “And you are certain of this? You cannot change your mind. You will not be able to live your life the way you have before. You will have to gather every piece of information that could potentially help us. And if you betray us? We will hunt you down, and do everything in our power to make sure you do not leak any of our secrets. After hearing this, do you still wish to join us?”

“Yes.”

“Very good.” Luna’s mouth finally betrayed her, allowing her to smile. “You will be an invaluable addition to the rebellion, and we look forward to working with you. We will finish your preparations tomorrow, as it is getting late. If you wish, I can send Flash Sentry your way now, or send him to collect you tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll wait until tomorrow,” Twilight decided. She wasn’t ready to face Flash yet. “I’m pretty tired from my spell earlier.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, I suppose you would be.”

Cadance - who had been smiling since Twilight gave her answer the first time - now looked at the two in confusion. “Uh… What spell?”

Luna laughed, grasping her sister’s arm. “Oh, do not worry about it, dear sister. Let’s allow Twilight some time to sleep.”

Cadance suddenly gave Twilight a horrified look. “You didn’t!”

All Twilight did was smile and shrug as Luna dragged her sister out of the room. Though, she couldn’t mentally fight the relief that she returned unharmed. If she wished to make her magic stronger, she was going to need a lot of practice.

When the door clicked shut behind Luna and Cadance - the latter scolding her sister - Twilight collapsed on her bed, disbelief with her decision. It was the right one, but nothing was ever going to be the same again.

Nothing had been since she entered Ponyville.

~~~

Twilight was in a large hallway filled with lockers on either side of her. Somehow it seemed familiar to her, but she didn’t recognize it or put a name to the place she was at.

She began to walk down the hall with her hands folded together, and a knapsack on her back. How she knew that a cartoonish Star Swirl the Bearded was on her bag she wasn’t sure. Suddenly a voice spoke next to her.

“Don’t worry about joining school a little later than the rest of the bunch. I’m sure you’ll catch up to your classmates real soon.” She looked beside her to a unicorn except she was much taller than Twilight. She seemed to be guiding her somewhere and Twilight wordlessly followed, physically unable to question the unicorn.

The walk wasn’t far, yet it seemed to take forever, but they did reach a door in the hall that the unicorn lady opened for small Twilight. When she stepped into the room all eyes turned towards her and Twilight couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment.

They walked towards the big desk in the corner of the room. The unicorn lady said a few words to the other tall lady standing in the middle of the room before leaving Twilight to fend for herself. “Everyone, this is Twilight Sparkle. She will be in our class from today on so be nice.”

Then the lady turned towards Twilight and told her that her name was Miss Hoofheart. A loud bell rang and Miss Hoofheart announced that it was now lunchtime, creating havoc as all the kids ran for their lunches.

Once Twilight put away her bag and grabbed her lunch she looked around for a place to sit. Then she spotted a girl with curly purple hair sitting on the floor with a doll in hand and her lunch beside her. Twilight walked over to her.

She stood in front of the girl for a moment and the girl looked up and stared at Twilight for a moment. “I like your doll. She’s really pretty.” Twilight said in a quiet voice before staring at her shoes feeling shy. The purple-haired girl beamed at Twilight’s compliment.

“You really think so? I made her dress by hand.” The girl said.

“That’s really cool. I tried to make Star Swirl the Bearded’s outfit once for Halloween but I ended up poking my finger a lot, and the outfit looked terrible.” Twilight responded, amazed with the talent the girl possessed.

She laughed and Twilight laughed with her. “I’m Rarity, and you’re Twilight Sparkle right?”

“Yeah but my friends call me Twilight. You can too,” Twilight before realizing that maybe Rarity doesn’t want to be her friend, “I mean… if you want to!” She looked away while blushing, embarrassed about her assumption.

“Okay, Twilight! We’re going to be best friends forever!” Rarity said with excitement. Twilight smiled until the scene went foggy, but even that changed to black, and Twilight knew no more.

~~~

The next morning, Twilight found herself staring at another outfit Rarity had provided for her. _Was that a dream?_ she wondered. _Or a memory? Does… does Rarity remember me…?_

Twilight sighed, knowing asking herself this was useless. She would either have to confront Rarity or wait until the unicorn asked her. Twilight was not sure which one she wanted.

_I don't know what I want anymore, do I?_

Deciding that now wasn't the time to second guess herself, Twilight began to get dressed. She was just finishing putting on the clothing when at her door she heard a knocking and a voice that left her feeling conflicted.

“Hey, Twilight? It’s me, Flash. Can I come in?”

What could she say? Yes? No, she was still upset with Flash. She could simply not answer, maybe he would walk away and think that she wasn't in her room? What if he decided to walk in?

No matter how Twilight saw it she couldn’t avoid Flash any longer. So she let out the breath she was holding and walked towards the door.

"Twilight!" Flash perked immediately upon seeing the princess.

"Morning, Flash." Twilight tried for a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

Either Flash was oblivious, or he politely ignored it. Either way, he pulled the princess into a hug, leaving her tense for a second. Twilight subconsciously relaxed when his wings wrapped around her. Her thoughts drifted to the kind pegasus from last knight.

"Come on, let's get breakfast," Flash finally released Twilight and stepped away.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Twilight followed the pegasus guard, half-listening as he rambled on about how glad he was that Twilight was okay and joining the rebellion.

Twilight distantly wondered if Flash was here when they were younger. Did he know her from before too?

When Flash went quiet was when Twilight tuned back into her surroundings.

She frowned at the guard. Despite not knowing her current feelings about him, he was still her friend.

"You're not mad at me for being a part of the rebellion, are you?"

Twilight sighed. She knew this was coming.

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "I mean, I do feel hurt… but I understand why you didn't tell me at the same time!" She threw her hands in the air. "I'm just so confused!"

Flash awkwardly chuckled. "I think anyone would be in your situation. If it means anything you, I wanted to tell you. I wanted you to join us sooner. But you were too close to Sombra."

Twilight nodded. "You're life is more important than the truth. I get it. I just thought… I thought you would be the one stable thing left in my life."

Flash stopped and grabbed Twilight's hand, forcing her to look at him. The princess blushed but held eye contact nonetheless.

"You know the truth now, Twilight. I know you're confused, but I promise to tell you the truth from here on out. And I'll be beside you the entire time. For as long as it takes for you to figure this out."

Twilight's blush deepened. However, a soft smile replaced her confused expression. "Thanks, Flash. I really needed that."

Flash released her hands, rubbing the back of his head in a relaxed posture. Still, Twilight caught a small blush. "I'm just glad you're okay."

After their talk, the rest of the walk to the cafeteria was a lot more comfortable. Logic overtook Twilight's feelings with Flash, and she was glad that it did. She needed a steady presence.

Of course, just after they were relaxed and nearly at the cafeteria, did a nameless person approach Flash.

“Luna wishes to speak with you.”

Flash shot Twilight an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Go on,” Twilight assured him. “I understand. I’ll keep myself busy until you come back.”

Flash nodded, before following the nameless person. “The cafeteria is right through those doors. Go ahead and eat!” He called out, before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

Once he was gone, Twilight found herself frowning. Maybe if she was lucky, it was too early or too late - What time is it? - and that everyone else was already gone.

Sighing, she went ahead and opened the doors. And was immediately hit by the sound of a ton of people chattering and eating.

“Oh no.”

Twilight awkwardly looked around, mind suddenly blank on what to do. _Do I sit down? Or is there a line?_

Fortunately, her question was soon answered when she saw a line up of rebel forces. They were of varying ages, some looking too young to be here, and some too old, but all were carrying trays. People stepping away from the line all held trays with food filled to the brim.

Twilight found herself slowly making her way over, hoping to not bring attention to herself.

The young princess shuffled inside the line, thoughts going to school. It was just like this, although she was usually in front of the line. Not because she got there first, it was because the students feared her.

Twilight paused at that. Was that really it?

As much as she hated it, she knew that was the truth.

Banishing the thoughts from her head, Twilight focused in time to point out to the chef what she wanted. She was glad that no one had reacted to her presence yet.

After she had everything, Twilight broke away from the line, searching desperately for an empty table. _Maybe I can bring this back to my room? Oh, but I don’t know the way back…_

Twilight gasped when a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

“Come, Twilight,” Rarity said, pulling Twilight with her while still balancing her own tray. “Why don’t you come sit with me and my friends?”

“Uh, sure.” She was certain by Rarity’s grip that she didn’t have much choice. At least now, she was going to sit at a table with one person she knew.

Although, as they approached a table, Twilight realized that she did recognize some of them.

There was Pinkie Pie. Twilight remembered her, she was the first person outside of Cadance that Twilight had met here.

Rainbow Dash, if Twilight was recalling correctly, a pegasus that had been with Pinkie Pie.

Twilight recognized the other pegasus, despite the fact that she was trying to hide behind her hair. She was the kind stranger from last night, though, the princess realized guiltily, that she never got her name, even after their hug.

There was one more person, though Twilight didn’t recognize her. She had tan skin, blonde hair, and even wore a cowboy hat.

They were talking amongst themselves until Pinkie noticed the two approaching unicorns.

“Rarity! Twilight! Come sit with us!”

Twilight flushed under the attention Pinkie brought to her, but Rarity only laughed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry darling, that’s what we planned on doing.”

Pinkie plopped back in her seat, falling back. “Thank goodness. I was worried you would take Twilight somewhere else, rudely ignoring us.”

“No, you weren’t,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “You were just talking about how much you wanted us to meet Twilight. Even though you saw her once and barely even talked.”

Twilight sat down next to Rarity, watching Pinkie with barely contained amusement. Pinkie clutched her chest, exaggerated hurt on her face. “How could you betray me like this, Rainbow Dash? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS?”

“What exactly did I do to betray you…?”

“Anyways,” Rarity interrupted. Twilight was kind of disappointed, but only because she wanted to see what Rainbow had done. She saw nothing wrong with what she said. “Let’s start with introductions, shall we? Twilight, this is Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Everyone, this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Hello,” Twilight greeted, getting a mixture of greetings from all of them.

The group settled after that. They began to eat, while also making small talk with each other. Twilight listened, though never spoke up. She felt so out of place. Despite swearing her loyalty, she still did not belong. These people probably grew up here, in hiding, training, fighting. While Twilight lived in luxury, safety, with no fears.

Realizing what she was doing, Twilight snapped herself out of those thoughts. This wasn’t about her anymore. This was much bigger than she could ever be.

 _Small steps,_ Twilight told herself, before finally speaking to Rarity. “So where is Spike? I would have thought he would be here.”

Rarity shook her head, smiling. “Eating all of my gems, I imagine. He can eat human food, but Spike has a preference for gems. Sometimes he joins us, he may later on.”

“That must be expensive to feed him then.”

“It is for most people. Fortunately, I have a special ability. I can locate gems, even if they’re hidden in the ground. It actually helps us make money for supplies.”

“Rarity's spell and my apple farm help run this here base,” Apple Jack added. “Maybe Ah can show you sometime.”

“That’s not something I had even thought of. I assume some of you still have regular jobs though, right?”

“Yep!” Pinkie jumped in her seat. “Mr. and Mrs. Cupcake, some of the chefs? They also run a bakery in Ponyville. I help them sometimes.”

“Oh, I think I may have seen it.”

“OH, we are definitely going sometime!”

“Sounds great.”

Twilight was surprised to see how they were acting around her. Not even a hint of wariness? It was weird, suspicious… and really nice.

It didn’t make sense. She had done nothing to gain their trust. Heck, she was certain everything she had done should have her locked up, and used against Sombra. But here they were, acting as if they had always known her. Even Rainbow Dash, the one that had been angry, distrustful, towards Twilight when they first met, was completely relaxed. Twilight found no ill will being directed towards her.

They continued to make small talk for a while, until slowly, they were pulled away, getting back to work.

At this point, Flash had yet to return, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little bit lost and alone. All she could think about was how badly she wanted to read right then. So after working up some courage, she decided to try and find her way back to her room where a dusty bookshelf awaited her.

Having said that, Twilight had no clue where to go. Did she go straight down this hall? Did she turn left? Right? Twilight didn’t know, but she pushed forward and decided that right was always the right choice.

Everything seemed so plain and simple. Stone walls, stone floor, stone ceiling. Heck, she was certain there were no windows! _Did they have no sense of decor?_ Twilight asked herself, but then reminded herself that they were rebels and plain and simple was what kept them hidden from Sombra’s watchful eye.

She also had to remember that she had been privileged when it came to her home, with marble and carpet, with paintings and potted plants against the walls, and chandeliers of crystal hanging from the high ceilings.

All that was gone now. She gave up those luxuries when she decided to join the rebellion. And although she didn’t really care about the decor, it still made her sad to think that it was gone now.

Twilight walked down hallway after hallway, each looked the same, the only difference being the numbers on the doors, and signs on the walls with names Twilight didn’t recognize.

She finally stopped aimlessly walking around when she saying a sign saying ‘Training Room’. Curious, Twilight opened the door. The room was filled with mats, punching bags and exercise equipment like lifts and treadmills.

What caught her eye though was the people in the room. She recognized three of them. There was the purple short-haired Unicorn from the alleyway, who looked preoccupied with training a group of kids what looked like self-defence.

Then there was the other girl that was with her that night, the long wavy red/orange-haired girl. And from the looks of it, she was really going at it with another person.

Twilight couldn’t see their face, as their back was towards her. _Not going to lie, they look really hot._ Twilight thought to herself before realizing what that could mean. _In a totally platonic, not attractive way! She told herself._

She shook her head to try and physically push away the thought, before fully walking into the Training Room.

Maybe she should have been more discreet about closing the door, because before she even thought about the weight of the door, it slammed shut behind her, successfully placing all eyes on her.

The room went silent in an instant.

Only then did Twilight see the face of the other person fight the red/orange-haired girl. You can imagine the shock on her face when she realized it was the girl that had lost her shop stand.

Twilight couldn’t help the blush that blossomed on her face at seeing the sweat trickle down the shopkeepers face, biceps and hair.

“Is that the princess?” Twilight hears a shameless voice say, breaking the ice-cold silence hanging in the air. And then there was a prominent ‘ouch’ following the question.

The girl with the cropped purple and teal hair walked up to Twilight with an awkward smile on her face.

“Hey, sorry about that. Sweetie Belle doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut sometimes.” She said while rubbing the back of her neck as she stopped a few feet away from Twilight. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Starlight Glimmer.” She said while holding her hand out to the princess.

Twilight hesitantly took her hand. “I would introduce myself but Sweetie Bell already did.”

At that Starlight chuckled easing up the awkwardness in the room. “Yeah. Anyways I just wanted to apologize to you.”

“For what?” Twilight asked.

“For knocking you unconscious the last time I saw you.” Starlight said, unable to make eye contact.

“You didn’t do that,” The other strangers from that night said while making her way towards them, “I did. Don’t take credit for my deeds. Besides, it was protocol, and hey! Look where you are now, one of us!

Anyways, I’m Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight shook her hand with a nod.

“It’s nice to finally meet you without being knocked out,” Twilight said but then silently cursed herself for being sarcastic in a situation like this. Starlight and Sunset laughed anyways.

“Hi, I’m Apple Bloom, and this is Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” The three turned to see a tan younger version of Applejack with long ginger hair, who introduced them. To her right was a pale, long wavy pastel purple haired girl who looked like a younger version of Rarity; most likely Sweetie Belle. And to Apple Blooms left was a short spiked up purple haired girl with dark brown skin, who must have been Scootaloo.

“Hello.” Twilight awkwardly waved. While sneaking a glance at the shopkeeper. _Is that how she knew my name? Because she had heard from others working with the rebellion?_ Twilight couldn’t help but be curious.

“So you’re really the princess? And you’re not going to rat us out or anything?” Scootaloo said with her hands on her hips and a skeptical look in her eyes.

“She isn’t going to say shit.” The shopkeeper said now with a towel around her tanned neck and a water bottle in her hand. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt in her eyes, probably because the next thing she said was, “Because if she does then I will personally kick her plump behind.”

Another blush from Twilight arose. “What have I said about watching your language around my students?” Starlight said rubbing her eyes in frustration.

“I… I never got your name.” Twilight decided to speak up, directing her words to the shopkeeper.

“And you won’t for a while.” She said with no mercy, shocking Twilight.

“Then what do I call you?”

She seemed to consider for a second.

“Tempest.” Then she left, but not before throwing a smirk on her face and a wink towards Twilight that set her cheeks ablaze.

“Ignore her. She’s hard on everyone at first.” Sunset said while patting Twilight’s shoulder. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and nodded her head before allowing her eyes to wander back towards the door Tempest strutted out of.

“Hey ah… would you mind showing me back to my room? I have some reading I need to catch up on, and a letter to send to my fath- I mean King Sombra.”

Again Twilight almost slipped the word ‘father’ out she knew that it would makethe rebels uncomfortable so she tried her best to avoid calling him that, no matter how much it pained her to refer to him as such.

“A fellow book reader! I can respect that.” Starlight said while Sunset made gagging sounds, earning her a glare from Starlight. “Scootaloo can show you the way.”

“Do I have to? I mean, no offence Twilight but I would rather stay and train.” She complained.

“You’ll miss more training the longer you wait here.” Starlight pointed out.

“Come on Twilight! I don’t wanna miss another lesson!” She said grabbing Twilight’s hand and rushed out the door. Twilight could hear the others laughing behind them, but she didn’t mind. She couldn’t help but giggle a little too. 


	9. Chapter 9

The young princess was just finishing up her letter for her father when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Twilight? You in here?”

Twilight looked up in time to see Flash open the door and peek inside. “Yup, just finished writing my daily report to my father. You know, the one where I lie and tell him everything is fine.”

“Wow. You’re really upset about the letters, eh?” Flash responded while taking a seat on the edge of Twilight’s bed. Twilight pulled off the reading glasses that she was gifted that morning by Cadance - who somehow knew about Twilight’s struggle to read up close.

“I mean you’re not lying when you say that you’re fine.” Flash tried to offer comfort, but those words weren’t the ones she needed to hear.

Twilight struggled with her next words, not knowing whether to confide in Flash after keeping such a big secret about himself from her.

“Am I?” She decided to say. “Maybe physically, but on the inside, I’m a mess.”

She got up from the chair at her desk and sat in the middle of the bed cross-legged, her hands in her lap.

“I’m so conflicted with myself. I thought that once I joined the rebellion it would clear up some of my feelings. That I would be dead set on this choice. But if anything it just made me more confused.

“On the one hand, I believe in what the rebellion is doing. I understand that this is what needs to be done to save Equestria. But on the other, I want to run and tell my father-”

“He’s not your father-” Flash tried to intercept but Twilight wouldn’t have it.

“Yes, he is! No matter what anyone tells me, he is the only father I have ever known. I admit that he was tough on me at a young age, but it’s made me into the powerful, independent woman I am today. No one knows Sombra as well as I do and that’s why it’s so easy for you to go to war with him.”

By the end of Twilight’s rant, her heart rate was abnormally fast and her face was red with passion and frustration.

Flash looked at Twilight silently, thoughtfully for a moment before adjusting himself so that he was sitting across from her cross-legged, and taking her hands into his.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. None of us even bother thinking about how you must be feeling when we talk poorly about King Sombra. I wish I could understand what you see in him, but I don’t. I wish I could make your feelings as clear as day, but I can’t.”

Those words made Twilight’s eyes water. She hastily looked down to her lap to hide them, but sweet, sweet Flash Sentry lifted her head with her chin pinched between his smooth fingers and looked into her eyes like he could see her soul through them.

And maybe he could see all the scratches and cracks that were there, but Twilight didn’t bother hiding. She wanted him to see it. He may have kept his true self from her, but he had done it to protect himself as well as Twilight. She understood that despite how much it hurt to hear it from someone else.

“But I’m here to offer as much comfort as I can and answer any of your questions to the best of my ability. If you don’t agree with something that the rebellion is doing then let me know and I can talk to Luna about it, alright?”

Twilight sniffled before she nodded.

Flash didn’t move for a few moments but his eyes searched her face for a sign that he needed to comfort her more. Twilight couldn’t help but notice how he glanced over her lips a few times more than necessary before he pulled Twilight in for a hug.

That was the first time he had embraced her like that. With his face right up against her neck and in her hair. His grip was light so he wouldn’t suffocate her. She knew that if he could have, this is how he would have held her the few other times that he had embraced her while they were in the castle. If only he hadn’t been so afraid of the king’s judgment.

And she was happy that he was no longer holding back. That there was no more fear of being and doing what he wants.

When he pulled away he said one last thing before standing up, “Are you hungry? We could go to the dining hall and get some food, and if you don’t want to eat there then we can bring your food back to your room?”

“I’m not hungry yet, but you can go ahead. I know you’re probably starving.” Twilight said while she wiped the remaining tears.

As if on cue, Flash’s stomach growled. His hand flew towards the sound as if he could muffle it with his palm; a slight blush coloured his cheeks.

“I think I’ll do that. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” She nodded her head with a small smile, “Now go eat, I’ll see you later.” Twilight waved her hand as if to shoo him out the door.

Flash agreed and bowed even though he didn’t have to now that King Sombra wasn’t around to scrutinize, then he walked out and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Twilight took a deep breath before allowing herself to collapse on her bed. She considered taking a nap, but she was scared. Scared of getting more nightmares of what her life had been like before.

She didn’t want it getting any worse.

Twilight laid there for a few more moments, before deciding she needed to finish her letter. It was the same as the last one - nothing new to report. Twilight tucked it in her envelope. She knew she needed to hand it to Cadance for review before they could send it.

As soon as Twilight stepped out of her room, she was forced to remember how hopelessly lost she was. And she couldn’t see, nor hear anyone close by that she knew.

Twilight groaned. “Why didn’t I pay attention before? That was so stupid.”

With newfound annoyance, Twilight picked a random direction and began to walk. At the very least, she could find someone to show her the way. Maybe she'd find Rarity?

Twilight had been walking for about fifteen minutes before she came across a familiar face. “Apple Jack!” Twilight called out loud by accident. The long haired blonde started searching for the voice that called her name.

Though Twilight had come across a few other people before finding Apple Jack, they were all strangers, and she felt uncomfortable approaching them.

She waited until Apple Jack spotted her in the uncrowded corridor before making her way towards the farm girl. She looked shocked to see Twilight all alone. “Howdy Twilight. What are you doing out of your room? Not that you don’t have the right to roam the base, but I would think you wanted to get your letter written to Sombra.”

“Actually I already finished the letter, now I just have to hand it to Cadance for review, which I would do on my own if I knew the way to her room,” Twilight responded.

“Say no more, I’ll be your personal guide.” Apple Jack insisted.

Twilight eyed the basket of apples in the tanned girls’ arms. “Are you sure you’re not busy?”

Apple Jack chuckled as if she just realized what she was carrying. “It appears as though I have my hands full. Big Mac!” A tall tanned boy with shaggy hair and bright emerald eyes - same as Apple Jacks - walked towards them.

Twilight hadn’t noticed before but on Apple Jack and Big Mac’s hats, there were small emblems. On Apple Jack’s, there were three small bright red apples, and on Big Mac’s there was one large green apple cut down the middle.

“Twilight this is my big brother Macintosh, but we all call him Big Mac.” Twilight had to tilt her head upwards in order to see his face and waved. Twilight understood why they called him ‘big’. He smiled back at her with a small wave of his hand.

“Can you take this to the kitchen? I have to guide Twilight to Cadance.”

“Ee-yup!” Big Mac’s deep voice surprised Twilight. He took the basket from Apple Jack’s dirty hands and proceeded to walk down the hall in the direction that Apple Jack was originally headed in.

“Come on, we don’t have all day to find her.” Apple Jack called to Twilight as she started walking down the corridor. Twilight was quick to catch up, afraid she would lose her guide and get lost again.

“Thanks for helping me.” Twilight barely muttered under her breath.

“Don’t even worry about it. It’s my pleasure. Besides, now we have the chance to get to know each other better!” Now Twilight was nervous, what if Apple Jack didn’t like her? She pushed those thoughts aside for now.

“A lot of people seem to think they know you in here. I’ve heard a lot of rumours but I would rather hear your story from you.” Twilight appreciated that a lot about Apple Jack.

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“Well I’ve heard about Sombra kidnapping you when you was just a filly and wiping your memories so that you would believe he was your father, is that true?” Twilight looked down in shame before nodding her head.

Seeing how uncomfortable Twilight was about the topic, Apple Jack changed it. “How about we play a game of 21 questions. Ah already asked you a question, now you ask me one. Take your time thinking of it.”

Twilight didn’t have to think long. “I’ve heard that you work in the food production part of the rebellion; what is it that you actually do?”

“My family and I own a farm above ground-” Then Apple Jack realized her mistake. She had just given a hint to Twilight on where they were hidden. She looked to Twilight with slightly frightened eyes.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Twilight raised her hands in defence.

“Okay… Anyways, it’s just granny, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and I running the farm. We grow fresh carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, and all sorts of other fruits and vegetables, but our main thing on the farm is our apple orchard.”

“I would have never guessed,” Twilight muttered to herself, but not too quiet for Apple Jack to hear it first.

She laughed before responding, “Yeah I guess it’s only fitting, eh?”

Twilight went red from the embarrassment that she heard her.

“Your turn to ask a question.” Twilight pushed. She would rather not focus on her words and red face.

The braided haired girl thought for a long time. “What was having Sombra as your father like?” This question shocked Twilight so much so that she stopped walking for a moment before catching up with her guide. “If I’m crossing the line then you don’t have to answer-”

“No-no-no. I was just surprised. You really wanna know?” Apple Jack nodded her head. “Well… I don’t know where to start. I guess he’s like most dads. He was strict about my magic lessons, and I wasn’t really allowed to go outside much unless I had one of his guards with me. That was Flash’s job. He was my personal bodyguard.

“I don’t think I was allowed to have friends over, but I didn’t really have friends so that wasn’t a problem. When I was younger, he would sit me on his lap and read spell books to me. I would end up falling asleep on his lap and he would tuck me into bed.

“I remember wanting to play tag with him one day so I looked for him in his workroom. He yelled at me for that and made me promise not to go in there again. He could be mean but I always knew that he loved me, he was and still is just hot-headed and doesn’t really know how to love anyone.”

Both girls went silent for a long time, afraid to break the quietness between them. Then Apple Jack said, “My parents died when I was young, so I don’t remember much about them. But I do remember that my dad never yelled, he was always patient and calm.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say to that. But they weren’t left in silence for long because they soon reached the planning room. Apple Jack opened the door for Twilight.

“We’re here. Do you think you remember your way back?” Twilight nodded. “Okay then I’m off, we can finish 21 questions another time. I have to help restock the storage room but I’ll see you around?”

“Definitely.” And Twilight started to walk inside.

“One more thing,” Twilight stopped and looked back at Apple Jack. “you have friends now and you’re no longer in the castle, so now you can hang out with us whenever you feel like it.”

“Thank you, Apple Jack. For being my guide and for not believing the rumours and... just being a friend.”

Apple Jack nodded her head in response before closing the door.

Twilight felt lighter about telling someone the side of Sombra that she sees, and for being able to consider Apple Jack a friend and not just an ally.

Remembering the purpose of being here, Twilight turned back to the two people standing around a large table in the middle of the room.

“Excuse me,” Twilight spoke up, but Luna and Cadence didn’t hear her. She said it a second time but this time louder. Again they didn’t even realize that Twilight Sparkle was in the room.

Twilight approached with caution. The two former princesses seemed to be looking at a map of the palace with great concentration.

“...and how are we going to sneak in? There are guards posted at each entrance if you hadn’t noticed.” Cadance explained while pointing out specific areas.

“That’s why it’s called sneaking in? We can chloroform the guards, have a few of our own dress up like them to stand in their place, which will stop suspicion.” Luna altered.

“But they wouldn’t know the code that each guard is given every day to make sure that your plan doesn’t happen. Trust me that wouldn’t work.” Twilight interjected, catching the attention of both Cadance and Luna.

“Okay then, princess, what do you suggest we do to get in?”

Twilight hated the spotlight, but she convinced herself that she has talked battle strategy with her father before, this is no different, besides the fact that she’s trying to break into her home and not an enemy camp.

“I could already be in the castle, I could call off the guards under Sombras orders and have your men there to replace them in uniform and with their own codes. That way you have all possible threats trapped in the castle, and Sombra won’t even question it. He doesn’t know any of them by name, only by code.”

“And how do the guards get uniforms and codes? Wouldn’t they get that in the guards’ lounge which, may I remind you, is in the castle? How would our men get in there?” Luna asked.

“There’s new underground tunnels that lead into a small pawn shop in Canterlot.” Twilight points her finger where the tunnel starts and drags it down the invisible corridors to where it ends. “The owner is loyal to Sombra but if we could get her out of the store-”

“-then we could sneak the men into the castle without suspicion. This way we can go in and out as we please and have the guards with Sombra in the palace.” Cadance finished with an impressed look on her face. Twilight nodded. “How do you know about those tunnels?”

And that was the thing wasn’t it? She didn’t know how she knew about them, and it hurt her mind too much to question it. “I don’t know, it just came to me. I know that Sombra never told me about it, but I can almost picture the tunnel in my mind.”

Twilight explained with her fingers to her temples to ease the cloud of pain covering the memory.

“Anyways, I’m glad you’re on our side of the war,” Luna said with a small smile. Twilight gave a weak smile back, glad she could put her knowledge of the castle to good use, but sad that by doing so, she was betraying her father.

“Glad I could be of help,” Twilight responded. “Ah, I almost forgot why I came. Here, it’s the latest letter to Sombra.” She handed Cadence the letter from her back pocket, she smiled.

“Thanks, Twilight. I’ll make sure to review it right away so I can send it off.”

Twilight struggled with her next question; “Has he…?”

“I’m sorry, he hasn’t written back I’m afraid,” Cadance answered the half-question and she truly did sound sorry. Twilight’s face fell.

Cadance and Luna looked between each other before Luna spoke, “We have a mission for you, to keep your mind busy.”

Twilight perked up at the thought of a mission.

“Your mission is to learn how to defend yourself. You need to be trained in the art of combat if you don’t want to be considered a burden.” Cadance said.

Remembering a certain unicorn she previously witnessed training, she answered, “Okay, I’ll ask Sunset Shimmer to train me as soon as I find her.”

“You won’t be training with Sunset, we need her somewhere else for the time being.” Cadance waved to a dark figure - that Twilight hadn’t noticed before - in the shadows of the room. A short spiky-haired girl walked into the light.

“Tempest will be training you.” Luna finished.

“A pleasure. _Princess_.” And it was that smirk on her face that told Twilight she was doomed.

~~~

Twilight had no time. No time to brace herself as Tempest threw her onto the ground.

“Twilight, if you want to train, you need to get back up.”

“This isn’t training,” Twilight groaned, giving herself a moment before getting back up. “This is just beating me up!”

Tempest snickered but offered Twilight no help. “This is almost ridiculous. Did Sombra never train you to fight?”

“Only with magic. He said the fighting was for the guards. I should have no need to dirty myself like that.”

“Typical. He probably kept you sheltered, I bet you rarely left the castle.”

Twilight grimaced at that. Her father rarely let her leave outside of school, but at the time, Twilight was fine with it. Now, she wished she had seen Sombra’s damage sooner.

“Okay, let’s try again.” Tempest, though, did not get into a fighting position, but she did gesture for Twilight to do so. Once Twilight was ready, Tempest approached her, lightly grabbing her. “Your stance is too wide.”

 _She’s too close_ , Twilight flushed, unable to ignore how warm it suddenly was.

Tempest helped the princess readjust herself, gently moving her arms and head. “Lower your chin, you’re just begging to get punched there. The best way to use your arms is like this. Perfect.”

Even after saying that, Tempest didn’t move away. She lingered longer than necessary, trailing her hands over Twilight’s arms. “Relax Princess, you’re too tense. How are you going to move when you lock yourself up like that?”

Much to Twilight’s relief, Tempest finally stepped away. But, upon noticing her gaze, Tempest winked with a sly smile.

Twilight glared while her cheeks went redder.

As soon as Tempest was ready, her face and attitude changed completely. It was almost like she was fighting an enemy, not training a (hopefully soon-to-be) friend.

Tempest charged at Twilight, who just managed to avoid the first strike. And the second. Third. Fourth.

“You need to fight back,” Tempest growled.

So, Twilight did. She tried, but even if Tempest didn’t dodge, she knew it wouldn’t have hurt.

“You can do better than that,” Tempest said, just before knocking her down again.

“Ugh,” Twilight groaned, refusing to get up. “This is impossible!”

Tempest stood over Twilight, frowning down at her.

“This is too fast,” Twilight continued complaining. “How am I supposed to keep up? You seem to be okay with me one second, but then when we start sparring, boom! You look and treat me like I’m the enemy!”

Tempest sat down next to Twilight, leaning back on her hands. “That’s because we _are_ enemies.”

“Thanks...”

“What? It’s the truth. Sure, you’ve pledged allegiance to our cause, and you’ve made one suggestion as to how to get into the castle. Yet as far as we know, you could be here to gather information for Sombra, and that plan of yours could be rigged to trap us.”

Twilight said nothing. Tempest was right, they had no reason to trust her word. But it didn’t make the words sting any less. She did think they were getting along somewhat. Tempest had been teasing her for Celestia’s sake!

“I don’t like how everyone is suddenly so trusting. It doesn’t make sense… But, I know I’m harsh. So, I’m trying to be nice. Especially since I know you must be really confused with getting some of your memories back. I know that they will probably make you go against your father more, but we just don’t know for certain. We’ve worked hard to get where we are now. I’m not letting _anything_ ruin it this far into the game.”

Twilight nodded. It seemed Tempest was the most sensible person here. If Twilight wanted to prove they were allies, she needed to do something. But what?

"...What memories do you have back anyways?"

Twilight tensed at that. That was not a question she expected from Tempest of all people. Maybe she was looking for something? What it was, Twilight had no idea.

Slowly, the princess recounted everything she knew. She didn't know why or understand how, but she felt she could trust her. Twilight almost felt that she owed her the truth, but that didn't make sense.

Maybe she just wanted another friend…?

When Twilight finished, Tempest sighed, almost like she was disappointed. “That’s enough training for now. We’ll continue tomorrow.” She stood up and headed to the changing room, leaving Twilight to lie there.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Apple Jack and Tempest’s words.

When Flash Sentry collected her shortly after - something that Cadancehad said she would ask him to do - Twilight still felt numb. She needed a break from this, a moment to collect her thoughts. When he announced that they were returning to the library, she nearly cried with relief.

Maybe that's all she needed.


End file.
